Marvel Loki Alternate timeline, set in the first Thor film
by RandomCitizen995
Summary: Loki is sitting on the throne, right after Odin has fallen into his deep slumber. As his brothers friends come to request the Thor's return, something strange happens to Loki, which changes the course of time and leads Loki to an unexpected adventure. This is my first fanfic, so please tell me your thoughts! :) The shipping: Eventual is Bucky x Loki :3(extremely fluffy of course!)
1. Chapter 1- A new beginning

Loki sat firmly on the throne of Asgard and stared out over the halls, contemplating his journey to where he sat, he, despite all the harshness of those who surrounded him, he had become king, though temporarily.

Loki let out a breath he had not known he was holding in. "So"…. Here I am, at last, sitting on the throne in all its glory."

Except this wasn't what he wanted, quite contrary actually. He never wanted the throne, but he had always thought that if he could somehow earn the throne, then maybe… just maybe his so called "father" would show him the same love he gave Thor. He let out a quiet chuckle at it now, knowing full well that would have never happened, seeing as he recently found out about his… origin.

Odin would never look at him the same ways as Thor, perhaps because of his history with the ice giants, or maybe he just generally favored Thor. In any case, he had always strived to prove his worth as a son and a king, but always failing. And when he finally, after all this time sat on the throne, it was only because he was the last option, a spare tire that could be used temporarily, only to be thrown aside once a better one came along.

He was so emerged in his own thoughts that he didn't notice when Thor's company strode in and walked up to the throne.

"All father, we must speak with you urgent…"

He looked up, and saw them standing, frozen in place looking at him like he had just pushed Odin downs his throne and claimed it.

"My friends!" He said, smiling a little, knowing full well that they were far from it.

"Where's Odin?" Fandral asked immediately, looking cautiously at Loki.

"Father has fallen into the Oden sleep… Mother fears he may never awaken again."

"We would speak with her?" Sif asked, walking towards the throne.

"She has refused to leave my father's bedside" Loki answered, looking down on them, knowing exactly what they were thinking about him when they saw him there, immediately suspicious, not being happy, or merry. Even if I did become king, they would never approve of me Loki thought bitterly to himself.

"You can bring your urgent matter to me" –as your last choice he thought to himself. He stood up, towering over them, and with a firm voice he said the last word very clearly: "Your king".

They all looked anxiously around, as if hoping that Thor, Odin, or pretty just anybody would walk up and claim the throne, so that they did not need to face him. Eventually they all bowed down on one knee, and dripping with sarcasm, Sif spoke: "My king"… Loki used sarcasm very often, and he could see that they were not pleased with the situation, but held there tongue at the current moment, just wanting to get it over with.

"We would ask that you end Thor's punishment" She said, looking at her friends briefly.

Loki scoffed, and was just about to tell them off, when something happened. Right before he spoke, he started to feel something. Something strange, like a voice, telling him to stop. Loki halted his movements and slowly sat down on the throne, trying to cope with this strange aura. Then it hit him, like a hurricane with images, flashing before him, showing him something. He saw himself, standing by the bifrost, fighting Thor, he saw himself fall into the abyss, invading earth and, and… A guard coming up to his prison cell, telling him something. "Why am in a cell?" Loki thought, but concentrated on what was being said. "The queen has been murdered" The guard said, walking away, leaving Loki alone in his cell.

Loki lunged forward from the throne and let out a loud gasp as the images stopped; realizing that the guards beside him were holding him upright as he almost fell down from the throne. He looked up, dripping with sweat and feeling sick and confused at the images. Was that his future? Would he wage war on earth? Would he be thrown in Jail? And was it by his doing that his mother, the only one who had always truly loved him, died? He looked up slowly, seeing Thor's friends look at him with worrying looks.

"Are you alright Loki?" she said, looking honestly worried and concerned about him.

"I'm…." He was going to say something sarcastic but nothing came out. He stood up on his shaky legs and walked back to the throne with all the dignity he could muster and sat down. He closed his eyes for a moment taking it all in. The images had shown him what he would become, and Loki did not think of them as fake, for his actions in the images followed his plan that was yet to be set in motion.

Suddenly he felt so tired, like a weight he had ignored had started to settle on his shoulders. He stared out at them, the people who were his brother friends, not his. He looked at the throne, who was going to be his brothers and not his. He looked out the window of the halls and saw Asgard, his brother's home. But it wasn't his home. He looked up and let out a tired sigh. Why did he even try? The images showed him were he would end up, and no matter what he Odin would always favored Thor over him. He closed his eyes, and a small, voice a whisper, said something; "You don't have to be bad guy" He opened his eyes and looked around, thinking someone had spoken to him, but only seeing the guards and the other looking at him like he was crazy. He closed his eyes again, and as an attempt to talk with whoever might have spoken to him, he thought; "What should I do then? I will never be king, and no matter what I do no one will ever love me here" he waited a moment, almost hoping the voice would answer him, but nothing came. He sighed, but before he could open his eyes, the voice answered; "Who says you have to stay? You can go wherever you want, free from the burden of the throne."

Loki's eyes sprang open, letting what had just been said sink into him.

"That's right"… He murmured to himself.

"Loki?"

Loki looked up, realizing that they were still staring at him. He stood up again, leaning the staff on the throne as well as his helmet and walked towards one of the windows.

"Could you end his punishment" Fandral asked, standing with his friends who were commonly confused by the events of things.

Loki looked out over the kingdom, realizing that the voice was right. He would never be king, and to be honest he had never wanted to be one, it had only been a means to earn his father's love, but as seen by the images, that would never happened.

The sun peeked out from the clouds and shone upon him, and the wind blew in his face. Loki smiled, and he could not help feeling a warm feeling in his chest, and started to wonder. "I could leave and explore the worlds" he thought to himself. "And I'm not bound to stay in a place where no one wants me."

He smiled as the exiting thought started to take place in his mind, he was already thinking about where he would go, what experiences awaited him, and maybe, just maybe… there were friends waiting for him out there, outside of Asgard.

"Loki?" Sif had now walked right up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder looking at him directly. "Can you bring Thor home"

Loki looked at her for a moment, thinking to himself, "The sooner Thor gets home, the sooner I can leave."

He looked at her, then the rest of them, and with a smile he said; "Alright."


	2. Chapter 2- The Decision

"Can you bring Thor home?"

Loki looked at her for a moment, thinking to himself, "The sooner Thor gets home the sooner I can leave."

He looked at her, then the rest of them, and with a smile he said; "Alright."

Sif stared at him wide-eyed, as if she could not believe what he had just told them.

"Really?" She said, a smiling starting to make it way up on her face as her friends let out a sigh of relief.

"Yes, I'll bring him back home if that is your wish." He said, looking at them seeing them smile, and could not help thinking if they would have requested his return if he had been banished. He dismissed the thoughts, seeing as it would not matter, as he was now intending to leave Asgard behind.

"But what happens if Thor takes the throne?" The thought came to mind, and he could not help but worry, for Odin had a reason for banishing Thor after all, and if he left Thor on the throne with Odin asleep, there was no telling what could happen.

Loki gnawed on his bottom lip; He had originally intended on keeping Thor on earth, ruling Asgard and earn his father's approval, but recent event had turned his plan upside-down. He could not leave the throne in Thor's care, it would be too risky, but at the same time he wanted to leave, and there was no telling when, or if Odin was going to awaken.

Loki sighed. Asgard was not his home, the people detested him, and when he finally sat upon the throne he realized what he should have done a long time ago. "If I leave now… Then Thor will start a war, and it will because of me." He thought to himself. Despite the fact that did not owe the people anything, he could not let this happen, even if Thor's friends would think of him as evil.

He cleared his throat, causing the company to halt their celebrating and looking at him, as if what he said had been a cruel joke.

"However." He began, already seeing Sif eye him with a suspicious eye.

"Thor was banished for a reason if you remember."

The company looked a little shocked, then slightly embarrassed, seeing as Thor had started a new war between Asgard and Joutenheim.

"If Thor is brought back… He will undoubtedly do something reckless, and Asgard will suffer from it."

The company stood silent, realizing what Loki said was true, for even though Thor was strong and kind, he was a reckless person.

"What would we do then?" Sif asked, looking at Loki who had silently observed them.

Loki inhaled a deep breath, released it and opened his mouth.

"I don't know." He said, staring out the window again and watched as the clouds drifted over the clear blue sky.

"If he is left on earth he might learn his lesson, but there is no telling if how long that will take."

The others mumbled in agreement, looking at each other for things to say.

Loki sighed again, pinching his nose and rubbing his eyes.

"The decision is yours." He said, turning around and facing them.

"Come back tomorrow and tell me if you wish Thor back or not." He said, and without leaving room for an argument he strode towards the exit, but before he left he turned his back and shot them a look and said; "Choose wisely, and put your personal feelings aside on the matter."

He then proceeded to walk out of the hall, leaving the company in silence as Thor's and Asgard's fate lay in their hands.

Loki walked through the halls, his mind filled to the brim with the ideas of his newfound quest, and before long he found himself walking past the royal library, filled with thousands of books containing massive information.

He had spent many an hour in there as a child, and he smiled to himself at the fond memories of walking through the library with Odin when he was a child.

He peeked inside, not really sure why, maybe a bit curious seeing as it had been a while since he last visited the library.

"Loki!" Loki almost jumped at the voice, and watched as the caretaker of the library, Alcarina walked up to him with a bright smile.

"Long time no see Loki!" She said, smiling brightly at him.

Loki smiled and replied; "Yes, I have been a bit… Occupied as of lately."

The old woman smiled and started walking into the library, prompting him to follow.

"Yes, I heard about Odin, such an unfortunate thing to happen, and now of all times! Is everything alright with you?" She asked looking at him, stopping in her tracks and turning towards him.

"I'm holding up" Loki said, giving her a small smile, though both knew it was a lie.

She sighed and looked up at him giving him a warm smile before she spoke;

"Well if you feel that you need to talk to somebody, or are in need of anything, feel free to stop by."

Loki smiled and thanked her, and as she was about to walk away he suddenly remembered something.

"Actually…" He said, seeing her turn back and look at him.

"Yes?" She said, smiling a little bit.

"You wouldn't happen to have some maps would you?" She looked a bit confused at first, but answered happily; "Of course! Just come with me and we'll have a look! Planning to travel somewhere?"

"Something like that" Loki answered, walking with Alcarina into the library, feeling a bit excited at the thoughts of where he would go.

Loki awoke the next morning by a guard knocking on his chambers door.

"Sire?"

Loki groaned and turned up in bed, scrolls and maps falling off of him. He yawned and looked around: His room was a complete mess, filled with tons of parchments and books showing the galaxy and cosmos outside Asgard.

"Yes?" He answered, yawning again as he stretched his muscles.

"Lady Sif and the rest are waiting for you in the throne room."

Loki cursed at himself; he had been so absorbed in the books that he had completely forgotten about them.

"Sire?" The guard asked again a bit timidly.

"I'll be there, just a moment!" Loki sighed and tried his best to wade his way through the scrolls on the floor to his door, and since he had slept with his clothes on he did not have to change. He opened his door and strode by the guard who was looking nervously at him.

He walked towards the hall, trying to fix his hair who had become a mess in the process.

He walked into the hall and found all of Thor's friends standing there, waiting for him. Loki walked up to throne and sat down, inhaled and looked at them; "Well then… What is your decision?" Loki looked at them without showing any signs of emotion, but truthfully he was a bit anxious; If they decided to leave Thor on earth, he was bound to stay in Asgard gods know how long, but if they want him back it could mean a full out war.

"Well?" He asked again, looking at them, seeing them silently standing anxiously about.

"Do you wish to see Thor return, knowing what the consequences, or let him earn his way back home?"

Loki paused, waiting for them to speak up, and after a little while Fandral strode forth and spoke; "We have decided… to have you bring him back."

Loki was about to protest, even though he secretly wanted to have Thro back now, he still felt that he had his duty to keep Asgard safe, and while Thor might have good intentions, a war is not something he would be able to handle, no matter how strong or liked by his people he was.

However, before he could speak Sif cut in; "We know that Thor can be reckless and sometimes… not thinking things through." The others nodded silently in agreement.

"We would therefore think of it as best if you sent us down to talk to him."

Loki raised an eyebrow at the suggestion; "Talk to him?" He asked, leaning forward and waiting for an explanation.

"We will speak with him, and make sure he promises to not do anything reckless when he is returned." Loki laughed, and looked at them, seeing them startled at the outburst.

"Talk to him? This is Thor were talking about Sif, he already went behinds father back to get his way, who's to say he won't do the same to you?"

Sif stared at him for a moment, before looking him right in the eye and said;

"Because we are his friends."

That hurt more that Loki would like to admit, and he knew it was true; Thor would always be by his friend, and he was loyal to them. He looked at them, suddenly feeling sad, knowing that his brother had the best friends anyone could ever ask for, and he probably didn't even notice it.

He stood up from the throne, grabbed the staff he had previously left the day before, and looked down on them, before speaking again.

"Are you sure that you can convince him to not do something we will all regret?"

Sif looked up at him and answered: "If we can't, we will leave him on earth."

While Loki did not think that they would abandon Thor, he nodded in agreement. "After all…" he thought to himself: "When Thor comes back I can leave and finally be free of this place." He walked down the throne, up to the company and stopped in front of them before he spoke.

"Then so it shall be."


	3. Chapter 3- Farewell and confessions

Loki walked towards the Bifrost with the company behind him, choosing to remain silent as they walked. The other did not talk either; they merely remained in silence, trading glances between one another when they thought Loki could not see them.

Of course he could. He was a master of magic; he could practically walk backwards and make it seem that he was walking forward. He usually did this, not walking backwards, but masking his ulterior to see what others did when they thought his eyes were somewhere else. He might not have Heimdalls eyes or ears, but he was always aware of what was being said about him. The glances, the whispers… He had lived his whole life here, always wondering why they stared at him so. Was there something on his face? Were his clothes improper? Did he do something? Loki always wondered this, because the people of Asgard would stare and whisper about him when he was not looking, or at least when they thought he **wasn't.** But he knew now. He knew **exactly **why they were looking at him with those eyes, filled with hate and cruelty towards him. Had they always known? Had his so called "father" simply walked with him from the battlefield, told everyone where he picked up his little "trophy" and expected everyone to be okay? Everyone hated the ice giants, even himself. They were cruel people, and… No they aren't even people are they? Just monsters, all of them. And I'm one of them Loki thought to himself.

The company found themselves at the entrance of the Bifrost, and Heimdall was standing there, as he always did, staring out over the cosmos.

"Greetings Heimdall" Loki exclaimed, walking towards the watcher with his company at his tail.

"We are here to-"

"I am well aware of why you and the rest are here Loki, and I must say that I surprised at your actions."

Loki halted momentarily, slightly taken off guard, but collected himself, reminding himself that Heimdall could see and hear all. Well… **almost **everyone Loki thought to himself as a little smirk showed on his face, for he knew how to fool Heimdall, if wanted that was.

"Well if you already know why we are here, could you then escort Sif and the rest to earth?" Loki looked at Heimdall, awaiting his response. The Guardian was always loyal to the king, always had been and always would. The question Loki asked himself was… Did Heimdall think of him as the king?

Heimdall looked at them all, and gave a short sigh before looking up at them with his bright yellow eyes, before he spoke.

"I could, if that is what you all want." He gave them all a look before continuing speaking.

"I have watched Thor on earth, and for all the good he has done here he has still failed to understand his mistakes."

"Failed?" Sif asked as she stepped forward from the group and strode towards Heimdall who remained still, clutching his sword and looking strikingly similar to a king on a chess board.

"Yes, his heart might be in the right place, but he has failed to see his errors, and in doing so failed to lift his weapon from its slumber."

"He's unable to lift Mjölnir?" It was now Fandral who stepped out of the group and stared at Heimdall in awe. "Are you sure?"

Heimdall snorted. "I'm quite sure, and if Thor can't move it from its place, then anyone who is worthy of it might come and claim it.

"Are there people on earth who could lift it?" Hogun asked, as he now too stepped forward, leaving Volstagg to stand beside Loki who remained silent in the matter.

"Well there are a lot who have tried, but as of yet no one has moved it an inch."

The company let out a relieved sigh, slightly comforted knowing that the Mjölnir was still safe. "However…" As Heimdall spoke up the company stared up at him again with troubled looks written on their faces.

"There are people who have raised a camp around the hammer, and though they most likely can't lift it, I am certain that they will do everything in their power to prevent Thor or us from getting to it."

"Where is Thor at the moment?" Volstagg asked, stepping away from Loki who had now chosen to merely observe as the conversation carried on. He was not so worried about someone managing to lift the hammer as he was that Thor would not be able to lift it, thus most likely preventing him from coming back and taking over the throne.

"He is safe I assure you." Heimdall said in a calm voice. "He is currently with some new friends who seem to have no ulterior motive other than being curious as to where he has come from."

"Well beside all else, can you let us down so we can talk to him?" Sif asked, looking a bit stressed at the moment.

"That is not my decision, nor yours Lady Sif. It is the king who decides, and he should know the consequences of his actions should he carry them out." Heimdall looked at Loki now, and the rest of the group looked back at him, as if they had completely forgotten that he was standing there.

"The throne and its duties has befallen you now Loki, and even though we want our beloved Thor back, he has not yet proved himself worthy of being a king upon the throne."

Loki stared back at him momentarily before he responded.

"I know that. But I have now put my faith that my- **his** friends will set him straight." He looked over towards the company as he finished his sentence.

Heimdall merely hummed before responding. "And if he does naught? Will you simply come back, accepting his fate?"

"Yes." Sif responded, and Heimdall gave her a short nod, before locking eyes with Loki, who gave him a short, simple nod, confirming what he should do.

"Very well then." Heimdall spoke, and he walked towards the middle of the room and set his sword in the middle, and as the room began spinning and twirling, the company walked towards the entrance that would lead them to earth. Loki walked up to the middle of the room and stood beside Heimdall and observed them. Fandral turned around and looked at Loki and spoke;

"Are you not to come with us? You are his brother after all; do you not want to talk to him?" Loki gave a short sigh before replying.

"No, that would not be wise, leaving Asgard without a king is a foolish mistake, and besides; it would be better if you talked to him."

Fandral gave a short nod before the Bifrost transported them out of Asgard and down to earth. Heimdall lifted his sword from its place, and the room stopped spinning, prompting a silence to fall upon the two.

Heimdall turned and looked at Loki before he spoke.

"When I was listening to your conversation I could not help but notice you're… accident."

"My accident?" Loki stared back at him, immersed in his thought at the moment and not paying so much attention to what was being said.

"Yes, the part where you stopped talking mid-sentence, almost falls down the throne and start shaking."

"Ah… that accident". Loki looked away briefly, not sure if it would be wise telling Heimdall, knowing that he would most likely tell Odin when he woke up.

"I was merely-"

"Loki." Loki turned, and saw Heimdall looking at him with a bit worry in his bright yellow eyes.

"Tell me what happened." Loki sighed, knowing that it would be pointless lying to him, and chose to tell him of what he had seen. After he was done he sat down on the stair with his hands in his knees and his mouth closed, awaiting Heimdalls response.

Heimdall sat beside him and remained silent for a moment before he spoke up.

"And because of what you saw you wish for your brother's return so that you may leave?" Loki did not meet his eyes; he simply nodded and said: "Yes."

Heimdall sighed and ran his hand over his head.

"You know that it might be you who are chosen as King Loki, and if that happens you can't be somewhere else."

Loki snorted at the answer and looked at Heimdall. "Me? A king? Hardly. I will never be king, and even if I should be… he paused momentarily, looking up at the star in the sky; no one here would want me as their king, and you know that, we all know that."

Heimdall stared at him in silence, not saying anything.

"I'm tired alright? Always seeing everyone cheering at Thor, my parents cherishing him while I'm left in the shadows hoping for a glimpse. Everyday people look at me Heimdall, and they don't see a person or a crown prince walking by, no… They only see me as a monster."

He looked down at the floor, trying to forget that his throat was starting to hurt.

"And I'm starting to believe them." He said before looking at Heimdall with eyes that had started to become red. "I don't want to be the bad guy." He whispered, looking out at the kingdom. "But this place… It hurts me, not by words but by glances, whispers. This is where I grew up, and yet I never feel at home, always left out, always standing away from everyone else. If I remain here I will become the monster they think me of. Can you understand me Heimdall? Can you understand why I want to leave this place?"

Heimdall looked back at him and nodded. "I do Loki. But if Odin does not awaken from his slumber, and should Thor not be fit to sit upon the throne, no matter what the people might feel, we still need a king."

Loki snorted. "Anyone would be a better king than me, because no one wants me. There is no point in ruling a kingdom where no one wants you, where everyone is suspicious about you and always expects the worst from you."

"Everyone does naught think I'll of you Loki, and you know that; you just don't want to admit it."

Loki sighed and rubbed his eyes; feeling teared up by having to confess his feeling to Heimdall who wasn't even his friend, just someone who was obliged to serve him by duty, not by choosing. He stood up and started to make his way out and turned his head before exiting;

"It doesn't matter either way; I am sure Thor will find a way back, and sooner or later Odin will wake up and rule this kingdom." He then walked across the Bifrost towards the city, and when he entered he could feel it. The stares. The whispers. Since he was holding Odin's people knew by simply looking at him that he was their king now. He disguised his face as he was walking, so it seemed that he did not see them. How wrong they were. He was looking at all of them, and his eyes saw their expressions; Hate, disgust, it was on everyone's faces. He picked up the pace, and when he was securely inside the castle he stormed to his room, closed the door and leaned on it, slowly sliding down into a sitting position. He put his head in his hands and began crying. He didn't usually cry, the last time being when he was a kid, and the other had laughed at him and bullied him. Thor had of course kicked their asses for doing so, but Loki was still hurt by their actions; as he was at the moment. He felt his hands shaking, his salty tears run over his cheeks, and he thought to himself;

`I can't endure this much longer. If I am to stay here any longer I might explode in rage and do something that I will come to regret.´

He kept crying in his room, feeling his emotions tumble around inside him; His anxiety, his rage, his jealousy towards Thor and his hatred towards the people of Asgard. It was all bouncing around inside him, trying to take him over and consume him. He removed his head from his hands and clenched them in anger, his skin started turning blue, and he could feel how the room temperature dropped below zero. "No more…" He whispered as he looked towards the charts in his room.

The company found themselves in the middle of a dessert, with nothing but sand and dust surrounding them.

"Is **THIS **earth?!" Volstagg exclaimed, looking thoroughly disappointed. Where are the people? The ale? The food?"

"We are not here to eat Volstagg, and the town of which Thor resides is over there;" She pointed towards the distance, where a town could be spotted.

"Right then." Fandral spoke as he and the rest began moving towards the town to find Thor.

"I must say that I'm a little surprised with Loki's decision to let us down here." Hogun said, looking at the others for thought on the matter.

"Yeah, you can say that. This would be his golden opportunity to snatch the throne after all." Fandral said. Volstagg shivered a bit before speaking;

"Could you imagine having him as a king? Because I can, and I don't want to even think about it. The guy is crazy; did you not see what happened when we asked him about Thor? He looked like he was being possessed! The sooner we find Thor the sooner everything will be normal."

The others hummed in agreement, but Sif could not help but protest;

"He is not all bad, just a little… Misguided that's all. I'm sure that he is fine, and when we get back we are going to talk to him about what happened."

"Do we have to?" Volstagg asked, looking pleadingly at Sif with his eyes. "Couldn't we simply-"

"Hush!" Sif stretched her arm as to stop them and turned around;

"We're here."


	4. Chapter 4- Discussions and agreements

The company came to a stop when they saw what lied in front of them; a town in the dessert, which to some might look like an old western town, if you took away the horses that, is.

They started walking into town together, looking around, and hoping to spot Thor sitting behind the windows perhaps? They did naught now after all his exact location, just that Heimdall had seen him in this town. There was not a lot of people, but the ones who were there stared at them with confounded looks, as if they were people going to a masquerade that had lost their way miserably.

"Why are they staring so much?" Volstagg asked, looking around at the people who pretended to be very busy doing something the second they stared back at them. "They look at us as if we had two heads." He muttered and kept his head forward, ignoring the glares and whispers of the townspeople.

"They probably just don't have a lot of visitors." Fandral said, and waved happily at the people who immediately looked away, embarrassed at being caught staring.

"That would look like the local tavern." Hogun said, and pointed towards a house which had a strikingly look of an old west tavern.

"Then that is where we will go and see if anyone has seen Thor." Sif answered, and the company walked towards the house in the middle of the small town, opened the doors and walked inside.

The tavern itself was pretty simple; not as luxurious as the place where the Asgardians usually dined and feasted, but it had its own charm, with its small tables and strange music playing from a box sitting on a shelf behind the bar. Their train of thought on the place was interrupted however, when a tall, muscular blond man who had previously sat on the table closest to the door turned around and saw them;

"My friends!" Thor exclaimed with a happy smile, walked forward and almost crushed them in a bear-hug.

"Thor!" They exclaimed, and answered his bear-hug with their own as best as they could.

"This is good, this good!" Thor answered happily, and smiled brightly as the company took a second to catch their breath from the welcoming.

"I don't believe it…" It was Dr. Selvig, a man descending into his old age, which was standing behind Thor, as well as two females, who shared the strange clothes everyone seemed to be wearing.

"Oh, excuse me." Volstagg said and stepped forward to greet the others;

"Lady Sif and the warriors three."

The old man and one of the females shared a glance, as if they thought that they were pulling their tails. Thor put his left arm on Hoguns shoulder and smiled again before speaking;

"My friends, I have never been happier to see anyone. Is there a reason behind your visit? Has allfather changed his mind? Can I return to Asgard once more?"

Now it was the company's turn to look at each other, and Fandral was the one who was first to answer Thor's question of their visit;

"Well… something like that. Would it be possible for us to speak with you Thor? In private? He shot the other people behind Thor an apologetic look, as if he had offended them by not trusting them with his information.

Thor looked briefly back at his new friends, who had yet to introduce themselves to the company.

"Whatever you have to tell me you can tell them; they are my friends."

He said, and sat down by the table, motioning for the rest to do the same.

They all sat down at the table, and for a brief moment silence hung over them, as company was not exactly sure how to explain to Thor about the terms of his return without hurting his feelings.

"You see Thor…" It was Sif that had taken the burden of explain what had happened in Thor's absence.

"The allfather, Odin that is… Has fallen into the Oden sleep."

She stopped talking, observing Thor face as he let the message sink in.

"Father is fallen into the Oden sleep?" Thor said, the smile dropping and looking around at the company, a slight worry showing on his face. "What happened?"

"We don't know Thor, but with you banished here, and Odin sleeping the throne has befallen… Loki." The company stared down for a moment, as if speaking his name out in the open brought them all to shame.

"Wait a moment." It was one of the females, the one without the head garment who spoke up. "What exactly is the Oden sleep? And who is this Loki you talk about is he bad?"

The company turned their heads and looked at the woman, who now looked slightly appalled at having everyone's eyes befall on her.

"Oh, I'm sorry; I'm Jane, Jane foster. These are my friends, Dr. Selvig-she looked at Selvig who gave a small awkward smile and waved his hand and said "hello"- and this is my intern; Darcy Lewis. The woman named Darcy smiled brightly and extended her hand towards the company and exclaimed happily;

"It's so nice to meet you all! Just have to say that I really dig the clothes, you look like Vikings!"

The company shook her hand and gave a small awkward chuckle at her praise of their garments.

"Well…" It was Hoguns turn to speak up.

"To put it simply, the "Odin" sleep is a state of which our allfather is sleeping, but not a normal sleep. We are Asgardians, and don't have the same need of sleep as you residents of earth do. We can put it off, but if we push it to long we might find ourselves in a deep sleep, of which it is not certain that we will awaken from."

"So it is like a coma then?" It was Darcy who spoke to Hogun, who in turn turned his attention towards Darcy.

"Yes, something like that. Since he is now sleeping the throne has befallen Loki, who is… A bit different." The silence found its way into the room, and Darcy smiled a bit awkwardly while she looked at her friends, who looked equally confounded.

"What he means is-"Sif said, looking at Hogun first and then the rest;

"Things are a bit out of place at home, but Loki has agreed to let us take you home, given that you agree on his terms."

"Terms?" Thor laughed a bit and looked at his friends who had a slightly more serious façade on their faces. "And what would these… terms be if I may ask?" He asked, leaning back on the chair he was sitting in.

"If you remember Thor, the reason Odin sent you here was because of our little mishap with the ice giants, right?" Volstagg asked, and Thor nodded solemnly, remembering how Odin had come to help them when they were in dire need, though he would deny it himself.

"Well… If you are to return to Asgard you have to promise to leave Jotunheim alone, and not do anything foolish." Volstagg paused for a moment, looking over at Thor and letting him take in what had been said.

Thor seemed a bit puzzled, but leaned forward and looked towards his friends who were waiting a bit anxiously to see what their friend would think of it.

"But… What if they were to attack us? Would it not be better to strike? With father asleep and the ice giants declaring war on us, would it not seem fit to attack them before they do? I don't understand why-"

"Listen to us Thor." Sif said, and used the voice she used when she did not leave any argument to be spoken against her.

"While it might be true that the ice giants hate us and most likely will go to war, they have been pretty calm these years. It was we that stormed their fortress, and in doing so starting this mess we are in. We can't handle a war right now, not with Odin asleep and you being unable to lift Mjölnir. We need to think this through, and that means no rash decisions, do you hear me?"

"Yes, but-"

"No buts! Thor…" She sighed a bit before continuing her speech.

"Loki has been nice enough to let us speak to you, and we all want you back; we really do. But you have to realize that war is not the answer, and we are not ready. If you agree to not do anything rash we can all go home, and when Odin wakes up you can talk to him, alright?"

She looked at Thor, who was now silently sitting in his chair and staring at his mug that he had previously drank from, as if it was suddenly a very interesting to behold that needed his full attention. He let out a sigh of his own, but a small smile made its way on his face, telling his friends that he was okay.

"Alright, I agree with the terms. But what of Mjölnir? We can't just leave it here can we? Someone could take it!"

"I'm sure that Loki can fix that, seeing as he is the current king and all." Said Volstagg, who with the rest looked generally happy at how things had turned out, which could not be said about the woman who was called "Jane Foster", who looked a bit worried at the turn of events.

"You're leaving? But I thought, I mean, I…" She looked loss of words, as if her tongue was frozen.

Thor looked at his side and understood what she meant, even thou she had naught told them why she was upset.

"You could come with us Jane!" He said, looking at her with a smile, then looking back at the company, like he had just picked up a puppy off the street and wanted to bring it home.

The company exchanged looks, not really sure what to say about it. They didn't usually bring "visitors" to Asgard, and since Thor was actually currently banished, they were not sure what the allfather would have to say to them if he found out that they had brought in earthlings in his absence, as well as bringing Thor home without his consent.

"Ooh! Can we tag along? It would only be a quick visit, I promise!" It was now Darcy who spoke, clearly not wanting to pass up the moment to tag along to Asgard.

"Of course you can!" Thor said, not seeming to see his friends silent pleas of not letting them tag along, seeing as the allfather would not look kindly of their actions, should he awaken that is.

"Well… As long as it's a short visit, I don't see why no-"

"Yes! Just a short visit, I promise!" Darcy was possibly brimming with excitement, seeing as how it was not every day that some strangers offered her to visit space.

The company gave each other a short look, knowing what they risked, but if it was only a short visit, surely they could visit and leave before Odin woke up? Right?

"Alright. Fandral said, standing up from his seat and smiling a bit. Let's go!"

The others mimicked him, and the girls smiled excitedly.

"Yes! We just have to pack, and then well come!" Darcy said, dragging Jane with her.

"I'll just fetch my equipment, and then I'll come too." Said Selvig, who also stood up from his chair and scurried into one of the rooms in the seemingly strange tavern.

When the humans had left them alone, an awkward silence befell the company, who was still a bit exhausted of knowing that they were risking their own skins in order for Thor to bring his friends with them.

"So… Loki is in charge then? How is he?" Thor asked, remembering what they had said about his brother previously.

"Well… He has acted a bit strange as of recently actually." Hogun said, looking briefly at the others, wondering if he should tell Thor what had happened to Loki in the throne room the day before.

"Strange? Is he alright?" Thor immediately sounded worried, for he cared a lot about his brother, even though most didn't. Loki was his brother after all, and if anything happened to him Thor would never forgive himself.

"He is fine Thor, calm down." Volstagg said. "He's just been a bit out of the ordinary as of recently, that's all."

"What do you mean?" Thor said, still slightly on the edge after hearing about his brother.

"Well…" Fandral said, looking at his friends for the approval. They nodded, telling him it was alright to tell Thor what had conspired while he was on earth.

He looked back at Thor and continued talking.

"When we asked him to end your banishment he… Well were honestly not sure what happened, but he became mute at first, then he staggered back, and then he looked like he had a seizure of some kind. He almost fell out his chair."

Fandral paused momentarily, letting Thor take it in. Thor looked more worried now, hearing what had happened to his beloved brother.

"After that he calmed down, waltzed around, and when we asked him for the third time he agreed to let us see you Thor. I don't know what happened to him, but something did. He is fine now, but has been more quiet as of lately, and is residing in his room, not letting anyone come in and disturb him."

Thor was silent for a moment before talking to them;

"I'll talk to him when we come home, maybe I can find out what ills him."

The others hummed in agreement, and in that moment Darcy burst out of her room with two bags filled with what would appear to be clothes and wires, judging by what was hanging from the small openings that she had not been able to close due to large number of items she had forced into the bags. Soon enough Jane and Selvig also emerged, carrying similar bags filled with earth-technology which looked ancient to the Asgardians.

"Were all set to go!" She said, looking rather ecstatic and almost as if she would explode from sheer excitement.

"Well alright then! " Fandral said, clasping his hands together and smiling at everybody. "

Off we go then!"


	5. Chapter 5-Homecoming and rage

The company of Thor, Sif, Hogun, Fandral, Volstagg, Jane, Darcy and last but not least Dr. Selvig walked out of town, towards the dessert of which the Asgardian had descended earlier that day. It was a sunny day, save for the wind that blew across the land, causing Jane and Darcy to pull up their clothes in an attempt to keep warm.

"So how exactly are we going to travel to this Asgard you speak of?" It was Darcy who broke the silence, and Thor turned his head to the left to answer her question of the matter.

"Well go over to circle over there." He pointed towards the black circle that was burnt into the ground a couple of feet away from them.

"After we are all inside the circle we shall ask our watcher Heimdall to take us home."

"Heimdall? Isn't that the dude that can see and hear all?"

Thor and the company give a slight chuckle at her phrasing of their guardian, but nodded nonetheless.

"Yes he is, and you will meet him soon. Now if you'll just step into the circle; we don't want any limbs to fall off during our journey do we?" Fandral said and gave a slight smirk when Both Jane and Darcy quickly made sure that they didn't have a foot outside the circle they were all squeezed in.

"Right then." Sif said and looked up towards the sky, and put both her hands on respective side of her mouth, making a cone-like shape while shouting to the sky;

"Heimdall! We are ready! Can you bring us home?"

At first nothing happened. The sky was blue, the plants were green and you could hear the faint sound of the wind sweeping by.

Then it happened. It was all so fast, the ground disappeared, and the company found themselves flying in a tunnel, like waterslide pointed towards the sky. The tunnel was shimmering with all sorts of colors, but they could not see exactly, for they were travelling very fast, and Jane was holding tightly onto Thor as if her life depended on it, since all she could think about was what Fandral had said earlier about stepping outside of the circle. She did not fancy losing a foot, no way! She gripped tighter, but still held one eye open, not wanting to miss the spectacle that she was experiencing. Once they came to a stop she let go, though a bit reluctantly, seeing as she liked being near Thor.

Jane looked at the place they were at. It was a giant, ball shaped room, covered in gold and bronze, and what looked like inscriptions written all over it. In the middle was some stairs, which led up to a podium where a tall warrior with golden armor had been standing before, and was now eying them with curiosity and caution. She took a brief look at whence they had arrived from, and a half circle in the room, which led out of the room with sparkling colors covering its walls. She looked back at the man, who approached with his sword still in his hands.

"Heimdall! So good to see you again my friend!" Thor exclaimed and walked forward, giving him a quick hug before walking back with the rest of the group.

Heimdall looked back at Thor, then eyed Jane, Darcy and Selvig.

"Why are they here? I thought you were only bringing Thor home, now you're letting anyone enter?"

"I'm sorry, we don't intend to stay long, we just want a chance to gaze upon your amazing city that we have heard so much about. I'm Jane, and this is-"

"I am very well aware of who you are, Jane Foster, as well as who your friends are."

Jane stopped talking, and her smile fell slightly as her mouth closed, and looked a little bit intimidated by the warrior with bright yellow eyes that was currently towering over them, like a big statue that could fall over and crush them at any given moment.

"My question was **why **you decided to bring them here. We are already breaking Odin's last commandment and now this? We have a possible war over our heads and you decide to bring humans with you? Have you lost all sense?"

"We know we shouldn't have Heimdall." It was Fandral, who spoke up, and Heimdall directed his glare at him now, and Fandral, though on the outside appeared to not be moved by the eyes that stared on him, was visibly shaking on the inside.

"But they will only be here for a short time, and if war comes we will have them sent home immediately, right guys?" He turned around and looking at the rest, glad that he could break eye contact for a moment. The others nodded quickly in agreement, not wanting to cross the warrior at any cost.

Heimdall sighed before he sheathed his sword and stood back.

"Very well then, but they are your responsibility. I cannot guarantee their safety if something happens."

"We understand Heimdall, and thank you for bringing us all back here." Sif said, before motioning to everyone to go with her out of the room as quickly as possible before the watcher changed his mind.

Heimdall simply gave them a nod as they left, choosing not to argue further on the matter. He turned back towards the opening in the room, and with his bright eyes he stared, looking over the cosmos and all those who live there.

When the company left the building Jane and Darcy gasped loudly, and Selvig dropped his bag on the bridge they were walking on.

"It's… So amazing." That's all Jane could say, seeing the golden city tower over them, with its countless windows and all it glory. Since the sun was shining it reflected on the golden city, making it glow in a bright, warm golden color.

The Asgardians were of course not impressed, seeing as they had seen the city countless time, but it was nice seeing the human so baffled by the city, and they hadn't even entered yet!

"Come on! There is yet so much for you to feast your eyes on my new friends of earth!" Thor said, picking up Selvigs bag and continued walking towards the city that lay before them. Jane and Darcy continued walking, but were completely absorbed by the glory and beauty of the kingdom. As they entered the city it was their time to be stared at, because to the Asgardians their clothes were really out of place.

They did not notice so much however, for their eyes were fixated on the kingdom; its houses, the street, the sheer mass of it all was a lot to take in, and they didn't spare a thought at the people who looked at them curiously.

Before long they found themselves standing out what seemed to be a palace, but much, much bigger than anything they had witnessed on their travels on earth. The guards looked at them with slight caution, but Thor waved them off and opened the giant gates with ease. The company walked in, and Jane's jaw dropped; it was beautiful. The walls were covered with gold, the architecture itself was amazing, and she could not help but wonder how long it had taken the people to create such a wonderful palace as this one.

As they walked in Fandral turned around and held out his arms on both of his sides as he stopped.

"Well my friends… Welcome to Asgard! I hope you will enjoy your visit here; the servants- "

3 maidens walked forward from the halls and took Jane's, Darcy's and Selvigs bags.

"Will show you to your rooms. Now I must bid you farewell at the moment, for I have some matters to take care of. He gave a short bow, smiled and turned around before walking away.

"The same goes for us." Sif said, looking at Hogun and Volstagg who quickly joined her and walked away, but not before saying goodbye, and promising to see them at tonight's feast that was going to be held since Thor had returned.

Thor looked back at the three who was getting ready to go to their respective rooms.

"I think I should go too, I need to change my clothes. These are nice and all…" He looked quickly at Jane to make sure that there were no hard feelings.

"But if there is a feast I don't want to sully them. I'll go to my quarters and meet you tonight, alright?"

Jane nodded happily, still in a daze after walking into Asgard. The maidens led them away, and they walked with through the palace.

Thor walked towards his quarters, but stopped by his father's room before he reached his own. He knocked gently, knowing that his mother was most likely sitting with his father. The door opened, and there she was, slightly red-eyed from crying. She looked up at him, at first confused, and then she gasped and smiled brightly before hugging him.

"Thor!" Thor smiled a bit and hugged back, but could not help but looking over his mother's shoulder, and he saw his father lying in the king-sized bed.

He momentarily let go of her mother and looked down at her; she looked well, but her cheeks were a little flushed from crying, and her eyes looked tired; she hadn't slept well, he could see that.

"Thor… How can you be back? Did you prove yourself worthy?"

"Something of the sort. What matters is that I am home again, and I will defend Asgard should the ice giants decide to attack us." She smiled a bit and hugged him again and whispered;

"It's so good to see you again… I have just been so worried about Odin, and with the ice giants…

"It's alright mother, I will not let them hurt you nor anyone else for that matter."

He locked out of the embrace and looked her straight in the eyes, then smiled warmly.

"Alright?" He looked at her assuring, and she gave him a short nod and led him

To the bed where her beloved rested.

Loki was still locked up in his room; he hadn't left the room since the company had left, seeing as there wasn't much out there that caught his interest, that is inside of the kingdom of course. He had been looking over maps and charts of the worlds, trying to map out where he would go, and how he would get there. He sighed and lay down the maps as he rubbed his eyes; he hadn't slept properly, being up all the time trying to map out his adventure.

His thoughts were interrupted as someone knocked on his door.

"Sire?" It was the guard, who seemed to have forgotten Loki's commandment of not being disturbed.

"Yes? What is it now then?" He asked, turning his head slightly so that he could hear what the guard wanted.

"Thor has returned, and by the looks of it he has brought some friends along too."

Loki closed his eyes momentarily and let his head go back to looking at the wall while he looked down at his crossed legs. Thor was back. He could leave. That thought alone made him a little excited, but he couldn't help but notice the guard mentioning that he had brought people with him. Humans? Here? In Asgard? Didn't Thor realize what Odin would do if he awakened and saw that not only had he brought Thor back, but also let humans into their sacred realm? He felt his blood boil with rage for a moment, furious that Thor could not see beyond his own stupid nose, if even for a second to think of what others thought of his actions and what consequences they could bear. He sighed again and raised his head and let it fall back, resting on his shoulders. Thor always had it easy with friends. He had barely been on earth for 2 days, and he had already made friends. Loki had been in Asgard his whole life, and the only people that cared about him were his mother and brother… Who it now turned out to not even be his family. Loki sighed again, and he could feel it. Deep in his chest, a burning sensation. Jealousy. He had always felt it, right from the start when they were young. Odin had always favored Thor, always looked at him differently, and treated him differently than Loki. When he had told them that they were both born to be kings Loki had thought that maybe if he became king his father would love him and come to respect him. He scoffed at it now, knowing that he could spend 5000 thousand years in Asgard without anyone, especially his father recognizing him for what he was. It had always been clearly to him that brute strength was not his strength; though he was stronger than humans he lacked in comparison to Thor's massive strength. But he was smart, and he had not let that talent go by. He had spent weeks, no **years**, locked up in Asgards library, reading all magic books and mastering them, even the one that had high-class dark magic, certainly not intended for youngsters to read. But he had. He had read every single book, all knowledge he could consume, just to prove to his father that even though he lacked the muscles he certainly had the brains to rule Asgard. However his father didn't notice him, and no matter how much he learned, how long he practiced to learn the most advanced and dangerous magic Odin didn't spare him a glance. His mother had told him that they never wanted him to feel different, that by not telling him he wouldn't feel left out. Loki tightened his grip on his own arms. Well he sure as hell always felt different; his so called father never loving him and the townspeople always looking at him differently than they did on Thor or anyone else. He stopped in his thoughts as he found himself going back to where he always was. This was almost all he was thinking of these days, and it was tearing him up. He felt like a broken record, always playing the same song, over and over, expecting it to somehow change. It was insanity that was what it was.

But it didn't matter. That was the only thing, the only thing that kept all his rage, jealousy and hate at bay. For soon he would leave it all behind, and then it wouldn't matter. None of it would. He rose from the parchments on the floor, and towered over his room. He took a glance in his mirror and almost had a heart attack. He looked terrible, his hair standing out on all the wrong places, dark circles under his eyes and dirt on his face from the old parchments he had been reading. He would need to clean himself up before tonight, because like every time Thor returned, no matter how simple it would seem to Loki, Thor's friends and the people of Asgard would hold a feast in his honor. Loki gritted his teeth. No one had even congratulated him when he had become king, even though he realized that it wasn't the best circumstances, it still hurt that not even one person in the blasted palace felt the need to congratulate the man who actually had his best interest in keeping the kingdom out of war. He started walking towards the bathroom, still feeling riled up about Thor practically spitting in his face when had been kind enough to let him home, and saw fit to bring his "friends" home. He would show Thor **exactly **what the consequences of crossing him was, and tonight when the feast was going to be held Thor was going to experience a surprise he would never forget.


	6. Chapter 6 Tears of joy and woe

The door to Loki's room swung open with full force, causing a loud bang to echo down the halls, though not a lot of people heard it, for they were quite busy preparing for the feast that would be held in a matter of minutes. But there was one who heard, a guard to be exact, who stood outside of Loki's room keeping guard. The guard almost jumped ten feet in the air at the resonating sound of the door crashing with the wall, and scrambled with his weapon that he almost dropped, being caught off guard. As Loki strode out of his room, his hair going back in a neat fashion, his dirty clothes replaced with new ones, he could not help but smirk at the sight before him; the guard was still fumbling with his staff, who seemed to almost have a mind of its own, as he tried to compose himself so he would not make a fool of himself, which he was doing a rather poor job at doing. Loki's smirk grew bigger; these were the moments he enjoyed the most, when he could laugh at others misery so he didn't have to think of his own. In Asgard he was known as the "god of mischief", seeing as he always caused trouble. He only caused trouble to be noticed of course, so that maybe someone would notice him, seeing as his father never did. The pranks was his way of passing time and trying out the new spells he had read about in the library, and even though he sometimes got in trouble for it, it was the most fun he had in Asgard, since his thoughts were pulled away from his own misery as he witnessed others. They said that schadenfruede (laughing at others misery) was the only true happiness did they naught?

He walked past the guard, who was trying his best to make up for his previous embarrassment, and headed straight for the hall, with the full intent on setting Thor straight and showing him who was the true king in Asgard, and what happened when.

Thor opened his door and walked out, having replaced his clothes from earth with his own. He smiled a little as he let his hands run over its body, his fingers remembering the curves and metal of his most beloved clothes that he only wore when a feast was to be held. He looked up, and saw his friends coming around the corner, all wearing their respective feast clothes, all smiling when they saw him.

"Looking good handsome!" Sif snickered as she and the company came to a halt before. Thor couldn't help but let a smile show;

"Thank you Sif. Have you by any chance seen Jane and her friends? I would not want them to miss the feast."

"Unfortunately I haven't, but I'm sure they are fine, the maidens are at their deposal after all." Thor merely hummed in response, gave himself one last look over; He didn't want to walk into the hall with some piece of clothing sticking out and Jane noticing. He wanted to impress her, and show her the world she had only dreamed of.

He gave himself one final look-over and nod of approval, before he looked up at his friends who seemed amused at how much he cared what he looked like.

"Well then… Shall we?" It was Fandral who broke the momentary silence, and held out his right arm in the direction of which the hall where the feast would be held was. Thor and the company walked past him, and he joined as they strode to the hall, setting aside their worries for the moment.

The hall itself was magnificent; it was covered in gold, with pillars so high you would almost think they touched the sky. The floor and pillars were covered with inscriptions, crafted by the master architects who had spent a millennia perfecting Asgard to its glory. There were thousands of different meals lined up at the long table; chicken, beef, bacon… Seeing as Asgard had a pig whose flesh would always grow back in short time, they always had bacon to go around all year, something Volstagg very much appreciated. There was already a lot of people at the tables, chatting and laughing about the day's events. The Asgardians were after all a merry people, and if there was one thing besides fighting that they loved doing, it was eating. And drinking. Especially drinking. Did I mention drinking?

The company of Thor strode into the hall, and as they passed the tables, people turned around and cheered on them, even though they hadn't won a battle or saved the city from any danger. They walked along the road, waving and smiling as the Asgardians who were already preoccupied with eating cheered on them, and some who had had a little too much to drink, were a bit too… cheerful to put it in words. They found themselves at the end of the hall, where the royal family sat. Thor gestured for them to go and sit, standing by and letting them walk past him. He was still waiting for Jane, who as of yet hadn't shown up yet. He looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of her in the sea of squabbling and laughing Asgardians. Alas, Thor didn't see her, and he began worrying; what is she had lost her way? Had the ice giants kidnapped her?

`No, no, no, that's just silly Thor; she's just fine.´ At least that was what he told himself. But as time passed, seconds seemed like minutes, and Thor was starting to seriously consider the fact that the ice giants had invaded and kidnapped her.

"I'll go look for her." He said, but as he was just about to walk towards the entrance, the doors down the hall opened. He froze momentarily, and then he saw her; She and her two friends were walking into the hall, stopping momentarily as they saw it; it was after all a pretty magnificent hall to behold, one you would simply not walk by and not notice. After she had looked at the hall, she started looking around, this time trying to find him, or at least that was what he assumed (and hoped for). As he saw her looking around he couldn't help staring at her, and as he stared he started to notice something; she was beautiful. She wore a simple yet elegant grey dress, clad with small rivers of silver along her sides, with a bright golden necklace around her neck. Her friend Darcy wore a similar dress, though it was red, and she wore no necklace. Dr Selvig wore a formal Asgardian clothes, seeing as he was starting getting into his old age, the maids didn't put heavy clothing on him, though most men and women did in Asgard, seeing as they were always prepared for a battle, whenever or wherever they might be or find themselves. But it didn't matter, for Selvig seemed to have brought half of his equipment, as well as a writing block, of which he was franticly scribbling on, possibly trying to document every square millimetre he laid his eyes on before he had to leave. After a short time she saw him and locked eyes with him, and then she smiled and started making her way to him, turning around for a short moment to tell her friends that she knew where they should go. Thor couldn't help but let a smile show on his face as he too started walking towards her, seeing her trying to make her way through the now small gap in-between the tables that were crowded with people.

They met halfway, and Thor couldn't help but embrace her in a quick hug as they met. When he let go of her he looked at her and gave her a smile; she looked so happy, like her prince charming had come and taken her to her dream-world.

"It's so amazing Thor, I… I can't think of what to say about it, it's just so… Amazing!" She laughed, looked around shortly and stared back at him, still smiling.

"I concur." It was Selvig who spoke now, and he seemed to have stopped writing to greet Thor, though his hand seemed to still be writing things down, though this time it didn't write on the block, but just thin air.

"Me too, who would have thought that such a place like this could exist? I am definitely going to recommend and give this place 5 star!" Darcy said, as she too looked around, and by the sound of her stomach growling and her hungry eyes Thor could tell that it was high time to eat, as he too started to feel water running from his mouth as he took in all the wonderful scents from the food that was currently being devoured by the people of Asgard and Volstagg, who had lost patience in waiting for Thor and already dug in on the delicacies that was lined up before him.

He led them towards the royal table, making sure that Selvig and Darcy went in first, so that he would sit next to Jane. When they were all finally seated, Thor took the glass in front of him, drank it in one swing, stood up and threw it at the floor to gain attention over the buzz in the hall. As the glass hit the ground, there was an immediate silence that befell them. Everyone turned to look at Thor, including Jane who had been shocked at the sound of glass shattering. Thor looked around, making sure that everyone's attention was on him. He cleared his throat before he spoke;

"Hello everyone, and thank you for being here. I know that this is a dark time, with our all father sleeping and the ice giants declaring war on us. But now that I am back I swear that I will not let them defeat us. Should they even try to attack us, I will be standing right with you, fighting for Asgard, and see it through that no ice giant shall ever come close to our kingdom!"

The crowd cheered, raising their fists and hooraying frantically at the speech. Thor smiled and waved at the crowd before he sat down, and Jane gave him a short smile, though it was strained since she didn't know what to think of the situation. Sif looked a bit anxiously at her friends who also seemed worried, seeing as they had told Thor explicitly not to do anything rash. Maybe bringing him back hadn't been the wisest choice after all. As Fandral looked at his friends in worry, he couldn't help but feel a chill go down his spine. Someone was watching him. He turned around slowly, and that was when he saw him. In the far end of the hall, Heimdall stood. He had the same armour as earlier that day, and his eyes bore into the very fabric of Fandrals souls, telling him **EXACTLY **what his thoughts on Thor's speech and the whole ordeal of bringing humans into Asgard was. Fandral gulped loudly, quickly turning away and tried to pretend that he hadn't just seen that.

Loki stood in the shadows of the great hall, unnoticed by all. He had already entered the hall when Thor came in with his friends, but no one had noticed him. Then again, no one ever did really. He watched silently, seeing Heimdall in the far corners of the hall staring intently at Thor's table. He had almost let out a laugh at the speech Thor gave the crowd. It hadn't even been a day since he came home, and he had already given a war speech? Had he learnt absolutely nothing? And what exactly was he planning to do? Odin had stripped him of his power, and Mjölnir was still stuck on earth, unable to be moved unless someone worthy were to grasp it. He shook his head as he looked down at the floor, feeling pity towards the company for trusting his brother not to do anything rash, and at the same time scolding himself for letting him back just because he wanted to leave Asgard.

He stopped however, remembering that he had a most nasty and excruciating surprise waiting for Thor, as soon as he would drink, that's when the fun will start. He felt a sadistic smirk make it way up on his cheeks, and he flashed his teeth in a big Cheshire-like smile, not that anyone noticed, seeing as most of them were too drunk or busy eating to notice their surroundings.

He stood motionless, waiting like a viper in the grass for the perfect moment to strike at his oblivious prey. He saw Thor reaching for the cup, grabbing it…

`Any moment now…´ Loki thought to himself as he prepared himself to cast a spell that would lead to perhaps his greatest prank ever pulled. He smirked and set himself in motion;

"Consider this a farewell gift brother, and a constant reminder of what happens when you cross me." He was ready, hands ready and Thor mere seconds from drinking from the cup, but his attention was broken by the great hall doors slamming open, causing everyone in the hall to stop their feasting to see what the commotion was about, including Thor who had put the cup down and had stood up to get a better view.

It was a guard that had slammed the doors open, and by the looks of his flustered face and the sweat trailing down his face, it was easy to tell that his message was urgent to say the least.

"ODIN HAS WOKEN UP! THE ALL FATHER HAS WOKEN UP FROM HIS SLEEP!"

Loki's brain shut down momentarily, letting what had been said digest. This wasn't happening. Not when he was so close to his freedom. Odin was back. And he couldn't have woken up at a worse time, with Thor back without his powers or permission, and also the fact that humans were here in Asgard! He looked quickly at the royal table, where Volstagg had previously spat out his wine all over the table and were almost choking on it. Sif and Hogun had panic written all over them, and Fandral's face seemed almost white as he for some reason looked away from the direction where Heimdall stood. This wasn't happening. If Odin walked in and saw this, he would… Banish Thor again, and Loki could kiss his leave goodbye, for Odin would undoubtedly want to keep him in Asgard after this ordeal. He started to panic, and looked around frantically trying to come up with a plan that would somehow prevent Odin from seeing the mess they were in and banish Thor. Again.

His train of thought were interrupted however, for now the all father **himself **walked into the hall, and Loki could feel the panic starting to kick into overdrive.

Odin looked around the hall seeming a bit confused by it all, and then oh god; he looked right at Thor, sitting there in his spot, with what would appear to be humans. Odin's one eye almost closed as he eyed Thor with a look that could kill a lesser man, and with his mighty voice he roared;

"**What in the name of Valhalla do you think you're doing?! Who is responsible for this!?"**

Loki started to panic, and as Odin made his way towards the royal table he got an idea. It was possibly one of his worst ideas as of yet, but not sleeping and the fact that he was panicking did wonders in clouding his judgment of what would have been the best course of action in the given situation. He quickly made his way out of the shadows, and whit a mighty heave he pushed the staff into the ground, creating a powerful echo that drew Odin's attention from Thor towards him. Once Odin and everyone was looking at him, he started to walk towards Odin slowly while he prepared himself mentally for what he was about to do next;

"I did this." He looked at Odin, who now seemed to be in a mixture of shock, surprise and rage.

"You did this Loki?" He said, and like two lions about to fight to the death over who would be the alpha lion of the clan they stalked towards each other, both preparing to fight.

"Yes father, did you not hear what I just said? Or have you become so old that you forget everything?" He smirked as he saw a vein starting to form on Odin's face. Odin collected himself however, and looked back at Loki with a look that would send shivers down anyone else. But Loki was used to it; after all, he was a cold-hearted person too.

"And why if I might ask did you of all people do this? Why did you bring Thor back, who my two ravens told me has not yet earned his place back yet? And why have brought humans into Asgard? Are you completely out of your mind Loki!? We have a war coming over us, and you see fit to not only disobey my last commandment by bringing Thor back, as well as his friends but also having a feast! What do you think you're doing! His roar had been heard throughout the entire hall, and Loki would be lying if he said that he wasn't trembling a little bit, but he couldn't back down. Not now.

"Why? Because I do what I want all father, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it, so why don't you just walk back to your cosy bed and start farting yourself to sleep while I rule Asgard like a proper king, hmm?"

He waited a second, and then let a big smile show, cackling at Odin who stared at him eye-wide. Then it happened. He flew backwards and landed on the floor, his right cheek burning like hellfire. He hadn't even seen it coming. He laid on the floor, trying to catch his breath as Odin towered over him, staring down at him with nothing but hate and fury burning in his eye.

"Take him to the dungeons guards. Maybe he will learn how to act properly in front of his king after a month in a solitary cell." He hissed, and two guards came forth and hoisted him up by his arms, not that he noticed, still numb from Odin striking him right in his face earlier. Odin stared at his staff that Loki had dropped when he had hit him. He opened his left hand, and like it was magnetic the discarded staff made a 90 degree upswing into his hand. He looked around, at the people who were now stunned in silence, in even Thor who was at a loss of words. He didn't say anything; he merely walked out of the room leaving everyone in silence. Heimdall followed him silently, sending Fandral one last glare of `I told you so´ before he left the room.

Loki sat quietly in his cell; it was a simple room, the walls were white and there was a bed and a nightstand beside him. It was the same room that he had seen in his vision, and that fact gave him an unsettling feeling. He sat currently in the bed and looked down at his feet, not saying anything. This had probably been his most idiotic plan as of yet, but he couldn't let Odin wash his rage over Thor, seeing as he needed him in Asgard to rule so he could leave. He rubbed his temples, still feeling numb after Odin hitting him. He hoped it was worth it, because he was going to have problems eating with one cheek swollen for a while. He stopped thinking when he heard the guards rustle as they turned around to let someone through at the upper floors of the dungeon.

He heard the dungeon doors opening, and he saw Thor make his way down the stairs, looking around for him. He spotted him and started walking towards him with determined eyes scaring off any guard who might question his visit or authority to be down there. When he came to his cell he peeked inside the yellow force-field walls that kept him from his brother.

"Loki…" He said, putting on hand on the yellow wall, looking desperately at his brother who looked down at the floor in silence.

"Please, look at me Loki. Why would you do that? None of this is your fault; I was the one who started all this, you shouldn't have to suffer from it."

Loki was still silent, not looking up at Thor who was almost tear-eyed after seeing his father hit his brother and lock him up after he had been falsely claiming that he was responsible for his own actions.

Loki eventually looked up, and with a small smile he answered, seeing as his face hurt if he smiled too much.

"I did it because… He shouldn't have any reason to hate you." Thor looked at him with a confused expression before Loki continued. He stood up and walked towards the yellow barrier that separated them.

"He has always hated me Thor, but not you. I simply didn't want him to bear any more ill will at you, seeing as you will be Asgards future king and all."

"Loki…"

"It's alright Thor, just… Go back to your friends. I'll be fine, I promise." He flashed a smile at his brother, who was still looking teared up.

"But we have to tell him Loki! He can't do this, this is unfair! I should be punished not you!"

"Shhh! don't shout!" Loki looked at the guards at the door, who seemed to not be hearing their conversation, or at least pretending not to.

"Listen to me Thor." He locked eyes with Thor, who looked back at him.

"I will never be king, and Odin will always hate me. Nothing is going to change that. Its better if he hates me than you, seeing as you are his favourite son and the future king of Asgard, besides, it would be bad luck being banished twice for a king, don't you think?" He smiled a little at Thor, and before he could protest he put a finger over his own mouth, signalling to him to be quiet. He removed his finger and started talking to Thor again, with a calmer and low voice than before.

"Please Thor, don't tell him. Its better this way, and don't worry, I'll be fine, I always get out of any sticky situation, just you wait. Just make sure to be a good son and future king, alright? Don't worry about me."

Thor looked back at Loki with a confused expression, but gave Loki a short nod, trusting his brother's judgment.

"Alright, but I will find a way to get you out of here brother, that you have my word on." He said, pointing his finger at Loki, with less oomph seeing as his hammer would usually be in his hand, before giving his brother one last look of compassion and a promise of his return before he turned around and started making his way out of the dungeons. Loki turned around with a small smile on his face and sat down on the bed once again.

He sat in silence again, but after a while he heard the familiar sound of the dungeon doors opening. He cast an eye upwards, expecting it to be Thor who had returned with some lunatic plan of getting him out that would ultimately fail. He was met with surprise when his eyes met Odin, who sent away the guards guarding the dungeon, possibly because he wanted to speak with Loki un-disturbed. He walked slowly to Loki's cell, and came to stop by the yellow see-through wall of which contained him. He let out a loud sigh through his nose as he saw his adopted son looking up at him through the cell wall.

"Why did you do this Loki? I already know that it was Thor's friend who requested his return, and it was also them who took the earthlings with them. Why take all the blame when it was not yours?"

Loki looked up and stared at Odin before rising from his bed and walking towards him, without breaking eye-contact.

"Why? Because it doesn't matter if I hadn't, you would still hate me. No matter what I do, no matter how far I go you still see me as nothing more than… A monster." He paused and let Odin take in the weight and meaning of his words.

"We didn't tell you for your own good, can you not see that?"

Loki looked back at him and his mouth opened slightly, showing his teeth in a way a snake shows his fangs.

"Don't change the subject! I have always only been a monster to you, and everyone in this whole godforsaken kingdom! Nothing I do appease you, and now I know why!"

Odin looked away, not being able to meet his eyes.

"But it doesn't matter anymore. None of this does."

Odin looked back at him, and had a surprised expression as he silently waited for Loki to continue.

"Because I will leave Asgard. Thor can take the throne for all I care, but I won't be there cheering him on while the rest of the kingdom make a fool of me."

Odin looked at him with a perplexed expression before he retorted;

"Leaving? Where? Your place is here in Asgard, and now with the ice giants declaring war on us you are needed here more than ever!"

Loki looked back at him before a mocking smile appeared on his face.

"Aah yes, of course! How could I have forgotten? This is my purpose after all, isn't it? To simply be your stolen locked up relic that you can use whenever it is convenient for you?"

"Why do you keep on twisting my words? This is your home; this is where you belong, not somewhere else."

"This is **not** my home, and we both know it. The only people who want me here are you; mother and Thor, and I sincerely doubt that Thor wants me here after he finds out what I am. I have no place here, why can't you see that? Why can't you let me be free?!" He banged his fists on the barrier, causing it to momentarily crack where he had banged his fists. He looked at Odin, with tears starting to well up from his eyes. Odin looked away and started walking away from the cell in silence. Loki took deep breaths, feeling his anger spiralling out of control.

"**Look at me! This is what I am! A filthy ice giant! A monster!"**

Odin stopped in his tracks and looked back at Loki, who was now crying, and his skin had turned blue and his eyes were red as blood.

"You will stay here in Asgard Loki. It is where you belong, and I will not let you go so you can satisfy your own selfish needs."

Loki felt the tears starting to run freely down his cheeks as he watch his father leave him, all alone in his cell in the dark dungeons without anyone to comfort him.

"**Come back here! You can't leave me here, you can't do this! Look at me when I'm talking to you!"**

He heard the doors closing, and he sank down on his knees, his hands still on the yellow wall and his head resting on it with tears running over his cold blue cheeks.

He had never felt so alone and miserable in his whole life.

"What am I going to do?" He whispered softly, feeling his throat close up and his vision blurring from the tears.

It was hopeless. He was never leaving Asgard, forever doomed to stay in a place where no one loved him or cared for him.

He stared down and felt the loneliness and sorrow inside him expand, and he looked up and drew a shaky breath;

"What am I supposed to do?"


	7. Chapter 7- Comfort and Journey home

Thor was inside his quarters, still angered and confused by his fathers and brothers actions. Odin had told him he would send him and his new friends down first thing in the morning, and to make sure that they didn't cause any "more" problems than they already had, he would send two guards to transport his friends away from him when they arrived on earth.

He was currently sitting at the edge of bed, his elbows on his knees and his head buried in his head. His long blond hair was obscuring his face, hiding it from however might burst into his room.

He tried desperately to think of something that could help his brother, but nothing came to mind. He groaned loudly and rubbed his temple with his hands, as if trying to scrape of an invisible layer magic that prevented him from thinking straight. Then again, thinking hadn't been his strong side, it was usually if not always Loki that came up with a clever scheme or plan, but he was now locked into the dungeons, and in a matter of minutes he himself would be banished to earth, with no means or help to save his poor brother from his imprisonment.

He was pulled out of his thoughts as a loud and resonating knock was placed against his door, followed by a gruff voice;

"It's time." Thor let out a loud sigh, placed his hand on his knees and rose from his bedside, facing the door. It was too late to save his brother now. He would be banished to earth, and the only way to get back was to prove him worthy. He

closed his fists in anger, his teeth biting down hard as he marched towards the door.

Loki was now lying on his prison cell bed, aimlessly staring at the roof, not really thinking, just staring as he silently breathed the musk air that reeked in the dungeon.

He was pulled away from his dream-like state when the doors opened, and a familiar sound of steps reached his ears. These were different steps however, not loud like his brother, or firm like his father, but more elegant, like… He suddenly rose up from his bed as he realized who it was, or more likely to only person it could be. He wasn't wrong. It was his mother, or at least the woman he had believed to be his mother up until recently.

Frigga walked past the guards, and with one swat of her hand and a command that Loki would assume was something in the line of "leave us alone."

The guards left the area, leaving only the two of them. An unsettling silence befell them, none of them knowing what to say. His mother looked at him, though not with the unkind look so many others usually gave him, but with a concerned and almost pained look of pity at him. Loki strode towards the yellow wall that separated them, stretching to his full length and meeting his mother's unwavering gaze.

Frigga looked over him, noticing his dishallowed clothes and his messed up hair, and the fact that his eyes were slightly red in the corners. Not to mention that his cell was almost destroyed, save for the bed he had been lying on when she walked in. He appeared calm, but she could see that there was still rage resigning inside him, though he was masking it for now.

"Oh Loki…" She said, gently reaching out her hand towards him and placing it on the yellow glass between them.

He almost lost his mask as he saw how sorry she was for him, the way she desperately tried to comfort him, unlike anyone else. He bit his lip and swallowed hard before gathering his bearings and responding.

"Hello mother… How is father? Pretty well id assume, seeing as he still has enough strength to lecture me." He said with a sarcastic tone followed with a smile and a laugh, but his mother's expression did naught change, probably because she knew that he was masking his insecurities and worries behind a smile.

"Why did you do that Loki? We both know that this wasn't your fault, yet you take the blame and purposely get yourself sent to the dungeon? Do you also wish to be banished?" She looked at him with a more stern expression now, but there was still a gentle undertone in her voice, like she was trying to reach under his mask and see what he hid underneath, a feat she had pulled of since he was a kid. He had always sought comfort in his mother, and she had always been there for him. She hadn't asked him to be like Thor, she had loved him unconditionally. She meant the world him, and he realized that she of all people deserved the truth from him.

"Perhaps." His answer was short, but it was enough for Frigga to realize that something was going on.

He broke eye contact and looked down at the ground for a short time, trying to put his dilemma into words that would make sense. He drew a long breath and looked up at his mother again before speaking;

"I don't belong here mother; this place… isn't where I belong."

She met his gaze, as if trying to search his eyes for something.

"Every day here makes me realize that I should be somewhere else, somewhere where the people around me don't… look at me like they do here." He paused momentarily and cast a gaze towards the guards in the far corners of the room that quickly looked away when they realized that he was staring back at them.

He resumed to look at his mother and continued.

"We both know that I never belong here, and while I somewhat appreciate your efforts to make me feel the same with everybody else…"

He paused again, and noticed how his mother's gaze wavered slightly as the words sank in.

"I still feel more left out than ever. It has become painfully clear to me now that even if I **did **indeed become king it would be to no a wail, seeing as everybody her save for my so called "family" hate me. The way they look at me… They do not see a king or even a man, just… A monster. A monster and a liar, that's all they see in me. And if I am to stay here, I am afraid that I will become what they see me as."

He paused, trying to keep his own emotions in control as his mind flooded with the painful memories of taunts and disgusted gazes from the Asgardians that surrounded him constantly.

"That's why… I want, no, **need** to get out of here. I don't care anymore about the throne or father's approval of me, all I want now is to be able to go somewhere where I can feel whole."

He stopped talking and closed his mouth and silently stared at his mother, waiting for her to say something.

She looked at him for a long time, searching his eyes to see if he was indeed telling her the truth, and before long she closed her eyes and spoke.

"Loki… If this is how you really feel… And if you are serious about wanting to leave then I won't stop you. But don't think, even for a second that you aren't welcome back if you decide to leave."

She flashed him a warm smile, and Loki could feel a warm feeling starting to spread in the dark cold pits of his stomach, and his own eyes getting a bit teary; Of course she supported him. Like she always had, always being there for him, not like his father who was always against him, his mother truly supported him and loved him like a real son.

He opened his mouth and closed it a few times before speaking, but his mother putting a finger against her mouth stopped him, and he was met with his mother still smiling and opening her mouth slowly, this time whispering to him softly;

"I can't help you escape your cell… But I can tell you that Thor and his friends from Terra will be transported to earth in thirty minutes. That should give you enough time to do something right?" She winked at him and walked towards the door, leaving Loki with a smile slowly starting to form.

Thirty minutes. He had thirty minutes to escape and sneak away. A big smirk showed on his face as he already began plotting his escape.

Darcy gave another loud sigh as she packed her stuff into her suitcase, sneaking in some fancy clothes that she had seen in the wardrobe, among some other things that had managed to get her hands on.

"It's so unfair… We get one in a lifetime opportunity to explore another world, and we are already being sent home? Can't we send them to some family therapy so we can explore this world another week?"

She looked over at Jane, who was also packing up her belongings.

"I don't think that there is any arguing with Thor's father Darcy, were probably lucky that he didn't send us to some freaky alien-dimension when he saw us."

Jane said as she packed down her camera, only containing a few photos that she had snagged when they entered Asgard.

"Though I can't say that I'm disappointed, I really wanted to see this worlds marvel just as much as you and Selvig. But who knows? Maybe he'll let us come back once this whole "ice giant" thing blows over."

Darcy rolled her eyes and continued packing her stuff, occasionally slipping in something that didn't belong to her.

"Suuuuree, and while he's at it, maybe he'll give us a grand tour? Maybe letting us invite some friends over and borrow his entire collection of technology? Face it Jane, the chance of us ever getting back here is the same chance that pigs will start flying, of which I have recently heard is a pretty damn low probability of happening."

Selvig walked into the room, more quiet than usually, most likely because he had really been looking forward to this chance to widen his horizon of understandings. He silently stalked towards his bag and started packing, causing both Darcy and Jane to fall into silence, finishing packing and walking out of their room.

When they walked out of their room two guards came around the corner and walked towards them, coming to a halt when they were in front of them. They eyed the three of them before Darcy spoke up.

"Alright boys were all packed and ready to go, seeing as your king has ordered us to go home."

The guards didn't seem fazed by her words; they simply nodded but looked at Darcy and spoke.

"So we have heard, you must be the vermi- I mean guests from Terra that king Odin has ordered to be transported to the Bifrost and then Terra. This way please.

The guard on the right turned around swiftly and started walking down the hall, the other one walking behind them. They walked silently through the halls, except for Jane who was photographing when the guards weren't looking.

Eventually they reached the gates that would lead them out of the city and to the Bifrost, meaning their steps were counted.

Thor strode through the halls, his gaze down as he still tried to think of a way to free his brother, but as he neared the gates it seemed more hopeless and impossible. When he reached the gates his eyes looked up, and he saw his friends from Terra lead by two guards, presumably there to make sure everything went right. Jane saw him and smiled, and he couldn't help but flash a big flash himself as he unconsciously sped up his steps just a little to get to her faster.

"Jane!" He exclaimed as he hugged her, smiling brightly.

"Thor..." She said, returning the hug and smiling just as brightly as him, before separating and trying to fight the blush on her cheeks. They laughed silently, not really sure what to say at the moment. Their moment was interrupted however, as one of the two guards who had escorted Jane and the rest spoke up.

"It's time." He then proceeded to open the gates, motioning for them to walk through. They walked together, Thor and Jane trading glances between each other, while Darcy and Selvig took their last looks at the magnificent they reluctantly had to leave. They reached the Bifrost too soon for their liking, and were met with two glowing yellow eyes meeting their own.

Heimdall stood silently and watched them as they walked towards the exit, choosing not to say "I told you so", but rather staring at them like a mother scolding their children. The company reached the exit, the two guards standing behind silently. Heimdall unsheathed his sword and placed it in the middle of the room, causing the Bifrost to activate. The room started to move, the walls spinning around and the familiar glow of a rainbow appeared at the entrance.

Thor let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He looked at Jane and the others and put on a little smile before the guards behind them hushed them to walk. They took their first step together, and before they knew it they were passing through the Bifrost, tumbling down to earth.

They landed fairly safe, except for Selvig whose shaky legs weren't quite prepared for the ground, which caused him to fall flat on his bottom. Darcy and Jane hurried to help him to his feet while Thor looked around at the desolate desert surrounding them.

He turned to Jane and walked towards her, holding out his hand and grasping hers.

"I guess this is it…" He said, knowing that Odin had forbidden him from seeing Jane again, seeing as he didn't want the humans to get even more involved with Asgard.

"Yeah… I guess it is." She said, looking up at him and trying to find the right words to say at the given moment.

Their moment was interrupted **again **however, by the cough of one of the guards. The guard looked at them with a big smirk on his face and spoke up;

"I'm sorry to interrupt this touching moment between the two of you, but I think-

The guard took hold of his staff and placed it with a resonating sound against the ground, causing a gold light to appear, engulfing himself and the other guard, hiding them from the sights of the others. When the light and smoke cleared there weren't two guards anymore, but one person in front of them. And when the dust had finally fallen to the ground, Thor's eyes met the eyes of…. His brother.

"That there are more pressing matters to take care of, do you not?" Loki smirked and laughed at the company's wide-eyed looks and open mouths.

This was going to be a **very **interesting start to his adventure.


	8. Chapter 8 -Explanations and pondering

"Hello Bro-oufhh!" Loki didn't have more time to say anything before he was engulfed in a bear hug, of which his Brother was responsible for, that and almost hugging the air out of his lungs.

The hug was… Overbearing to say the least, seeing as Thor's giant muscles weren't just for show, but at the same time it was a really nice feeling, knowing how much Thor cared about him. His brother hugged him even tighter and twirled him around for good measure, while pretty much shouting right in his ear;

"Loki! Is it really you? How ever did you escape the dungeon?"

Loki could practically **feel** himself getting blue from the lack of oxygen, and while he did somewhat enjoy the moment he really needed the oxygen to fill him up.

"I'll tell you… As soon as you stop crushing me!"

Thor merely laughed at first, but released Loki, who by now had his cheeks blossoming red and mouth open, gasping for the air that he so much needed.

Thor still had his hands on Loki's shoulders, looking at him with a big warm smile, which of course made Loki's cheeks even redder with embarrassment, though he would blame the lack of oxygen for that.

"So you're Loki?"

They were pulled out of their moment by Darcy, who as the rest of the company was looking a bit oddly at the two brothers by now.

"Yes he is!" Thor said with a bright smile, while Loki wobbled over to the company and shook their hands, laughing a bit awkwardly as he did so.

"So how did you escape? Did father let you go?"

Loki turned around at Thor's question and looked over at him, who now had a slightly more serious face, most likely because he was worried about what would come next for Loki if father found out about his elaborated escape.

Loki merely shrugged his shoulders and snapped his fingers, turning himself into the guard they had seen earlier;

I simply turned myself into one of the guards, told the others that "Loki" had used his magic to imprison me while he escaped, and… voila.

Loki snapped his fingers again, turning him back into himself yet again.

"By now they are most likely still running towards the end of Asgard, where I told them "I" had run off to."

Loki laughed loudly while he gave a big "Cheshire" smile, as he wondered how long the guards would run before they realized that they had been duped by him, and how they were going to explain the situation to all-father.

"But what of Heimdall? How did you manage to go undetected by him?"

Loki stopped laughing abruptly and fell into silence, his gaze lowered and mouth closed. The company traded anxious and confused looks, wondering what had transpired. After a while of silence Loki turned his gaze upward and spoke in a quiet, yet almost bitter manner;

"I didn't. He looked at me when we walked in, and I knew then… That he **knew **who I was, but rather than saying anything he remained quiet."

The rest of the company's eyes widened, but it went unnoticed by Loki, who now remembered the conversation he had had with Heimdall a few days ago.

"Didn't he say anything? At all?" It was now Jane who spoke, and Loki turned his gaze and body towards her before he spoke;

"As a matter of fact… He did. When the rest of you were standing at the exit of the Bifrost with me as a guard standing behind you all, he spoke to me. He told me something that now troubles me deeply."

Thor and the rest looked at Loki with concerned looks, waiting impatiently to hear the news.

Loki inhaled deeply and fixed his gaze at his brother before speaking.

"Thor… The people, who have made a camp around your hammer Mjölnir, they… Are moving away."

There were sounds of relieved sighs and holded breaths being released, but they were stopped short in their tracks when Loki continued.

"With Mjölnir."

Thor's eyes were the size of tea-plates when the information sunk in, and he let out an angry roar of anger and frustration;

"What!? They are moving Mjölnir?! Where? And how could they possibly move my hammer? Has someone worthy picked it up from its resting place?"

Thor was by now almost shaking the life out of Loki, while he shouted and bombarded Loki with a million questions, of which only half Loki could pick up between being shaken forth and back by his brother.

"Thor!" Loki roared, placing his hands on each of Thor's cheeks and holding his head still, while trying to get eye contact with him.

"Look at me." He held Thor's right cheek in a steady grip while with two of his left hands fingers pointing to his and Thor's eyes, telling his brother to only look at him in an attempt to calm him down a bit.

Thor came down eventually from his peak state of rage, though there was still some drool at the far corners of his mouth.

"Are you going to listen to me now?"

Thor gave a short nod, still looking down with his fists clenched.

"Look at me and listen while I speak then."

Thor looked up, and he loosened his fists.

"Yes, they are moving Mjölnir away, but not the way you think. There hasn't been anyone able to lift it yet, but they have other methods, which seems to be breaking up the very ground Mjölnir is lodged in and transport the whole thing."

Loki paused momentarily, letting everyone take in what he had said.

"But where are they taking it?" Selvig asked, concern flashing in his eyes.

"Probably to their base or something." Darcy said, looking at Selvig and then Jane.

"Where are they now?" Thor asked, turning everyone's attention to him at first, then Loki who stood at the end of the group.

Loki gave them all a look before turning his head back to Thor, who looked most anxious of the company.

"According to Heimdall they left this morning, and I was fortunate enough to get directions as to where they are going."

Thor let out a sigh of relief, happy to know that he now knew at least where his beloved Mjölnir was going.

Loki smiled a bit when he saw his brothers eased expression, but cleared his throat in a way that signaled to the others to turn their attention towards him.

"Yes, I know where they are taking it, but we can't concern ourselves with that yet, because we still need a shelter and place where we, or should I say you"-

Loki pointed at Thor, who was wearing his Asgardian garments.

"Can change clothes, since we don't want raise any suspicion, especially since you already tried to take it back once, and they will surely be on the lookout for you and your friends at the moment."

The company gave each other knowing looks, agreeing that Loki was right.

"No problem Loki! Jane will be happy to give Thor some clothes, won't you?" Said Darcy, while winking at Jane and giving her a friendly shove with her elbow.

"Eeeh… Yeah! I-Imeansureifthatisnotaproblemoranything…"

Jane said, maybe a bit too fast for anyone to really understand, but Thor nodded with a smile, while Loki rolled his eyes with a small smile on his face.

``My god… If it's going to be like that between them all the time I might just suffocate from too much romance´´ Loki thought to himself as he put one fist over his mouth and clearing his throat, breaking the awkward silence that hung above them.

"Alright then, it is settled, we will go to your home and fetch Thor some earth clothes, and then we will spend the remainder of the day figuring out how we are going to get Thor his hammer back."

The company nodded simultaneously and turned around and began walking, though with a short pause to figure out which way they were to go to get to the town.

Before long Jane knew the right way to go, and the rest followed her lead like ducklings following their mama on their first trip to the water.

They walked in silence, mostly due to the heat and wind blowing their way, as well as their bags that weighed a lot, but also the recent events which now had everyone immersed in their own thoughts, Thor thinking about Mjölnir, Jane, Darcy and Selvig worrying about what S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted with Thor's hammer, and last but not least Loki trying to conceive a plan to get the hammer out of their grasp. There was still a big problem in his plan, a problem which made it almost seem impossible to even try.

Because even if he was able to sneak into the building that Mjölnir would soon be in, he would not be able to lift it, and even if he was disguised, he would not be able to move the hammer and rock it was attached to unnoticed.

Thor couldn't move it either, because Odin's punishment still lingered on him, which made it all seem like an impossible thing to get done. Loki closed his eyes and tried to cancel out all the other noises around him and just think at the task at hand, and how he could solve it, the same way he did when he solved a difficult puzzle or were in the midst of pulling of a prank.

They trudged on through the sandy desert, before long they reached the small town. They walked through the streets in silence, not bothering with the townsfolk looking oddly at them, which of course was no surprise, with S.H.I.E.L.D. being there and all the new people coming to their town, it was only natural that they were curious to know what was going on. They kept their distance though, not wanting to go too near them, just in case.

They arrived soon enough to the boning of the earthlings, though it would be exaggerated to be called a "home" for Loki's taste, rather a cramped room that provided the most basics of needs. The "apartment" as Jane described it was very simple, probably because they were poor Loki thought to himself as he looked around. It had a lot of strange decorations, with a few ancient tech-devices that Loki would assume belonged to the old scientist they had tagged along on their visit to Asgard.

The company settled in, with Loki sleeping on the couch for the night, or at least that was the plan, but they stayed up all night, discussing how they were going to get into the S.H.I.E.L.D. base and retrieve Thor's hammer without being caught.

When morning came and the sun shone through the window, **right** into Loki's eye, he woke up from the chair at the table he had spent the night on. He groaned loudly and cracked his back while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes while yawning loudly. He scratched his right cheek and looked around the table, seeing everybody else in similar positions, their heads resting on the table, Thor having drool dripping out of his mouth. Loki stood up and pushed the chair backwards gently, as not to wake the rest up from their slumber. He walked silently to one of the windows, letting the morning sun warm up his body.

He was always a bit cold, probably because he was an ice giant, seeing as he was supposed to live in a cold climate. Loki sighed loudly and ran his hands through his hair, moving his head around a bit and cracking his stale neck. He opened his eyes and looked out the window, watching as the sun slowly rose over the mountains, bathing everything it touched in a warm, orange colored light that emitted steam from the icy ground that had been lacking warmth for many an hour. He smiled as he saw the beauty of the world unfold before him, and he wondered and pondered a bit over why he, or maybe the other him in the vision, would ever want to hurt such a beautiful creation as this one. He stood silently for a long time, just staring aimlessly out the window, marveling as he saw the few flowers in the city unfold as the sun's rays stroked over them gently, and how the sun painted the clouds with majestic colors. It wasn't until a few hours later when the rest of his company woke up, that he tore his gaze from the view and looked away. He stared silently as they woke up, Darcy picking a pencil of her face that had somehow gotten stuck there, Selvig rising from his seat causing his chair to tumble over and hit the ground while he approached the "coffee" machine, Jane yawning and trying to fix up her hair the best she could before Thor woke up, who was now rubbing his hand over his face, effectively spreading his drool all over his cheek.

Jane cast a glimpse at the clock and groaned. They had decided the day before to travel to the nearest city where S.H.I.E.L.D. would take Thor's hammer, and it was a rather long journey to get there, so they all had to get into the "car" which would take them there. Fortunately their bags were already practically packed, since they hadn't unpacked yesterday. The humans were now running around the "apartment" and fetching a load of different things, occasionally stopping earth food into their mouths. Loki walked silently towards the kitchen, or maybe the part of the room with the most food would be a better way to put it. He took a few fruits, not trusting that black smudge Selvig drank, or the green food Darcy showed in her mouth. He took a few bites of an apple while throwing a banana to Thor, who like the bottomless pit he was gulped it down swiftly, almost swallowing it whole without peeling it first.

When they were all done and packed, with Thor wearing a new set of clothes, they left the "apartment" and walked down the stairs to the "car".

They came to a halt however, as Jane seemed to realize perhaps too soon that they were one too many for the vehicle to fit.

She laughed nervously;

"Oops, I guess I forgot that we are a bit more than my car can carry."

Darcy gave a sigh.

"I guess well take the train then. Follow me; I know where the train station is."

They walked towards this "train" station that Darcy spoke of, and Loki was completely immersed in his thoughts about the plan until he felt a nudge at his right side, and when he turned his head he saw that it was Thor who walked beside him. They were now walking behind the group, with the others ahead.

"I must ask Loki… What will you do after this?" Thor asked looking at Loki with concern written over his face.

Loki stared back at him and was almost about to tell him, but closed his mouth quickly, staring ahead and letting out a drawled out "eeh…" sound, as if he was unsure. That was a lie of course, since his plan was to help them with their problem and then continue with his adventure, which meant that he would leave earth and travel to the galaxy. The only reason that he hadn't already left was because he needed to tie up the loose ends that was left, and ensuring that Asgard had its king, meaning that he had to help Thor get his hammer back.

The problem with telling Thor this was that Loki didn't know how Thor would react, because if he told him that he would leave, Thor would surely want to know the reason behind it, meaning that he would have to tell him that he was… an ice giant. But when your brother and father has spent most of their life despising and killing ice giants, it sort of puts you off from telling them that you are one yourself. Loki gnawed his lower lip. Thor deserved to know why, he was his brother after all, or at least the closest thing to a brother he had. But he couldn't tell him, not now at least.

He turned his head to the left and looked towards his brother who had been his best friends since he was taken into Asgard, who loved him very deeply. Loki couldn't stop the horrifying voice in his head that said; ``I wonder if he will still love me when he finds out what I am…´´

The thought alone made Loki sad, thinking about all those who despised him because of what he was.

"Loki? Are you alright? You look a little pale."

Loki was pulled out of his thoughts as Thor put his warm right hand on his left shoulder, shaking him a little bit. He turned his head to Thor and saw him smiling, his blue eyes shining in the morning sun's rays, his smile shining and the little bit of drool that hadn't yet quite dried up glistened in his beard.

Loki couldn't help the smile that showed on his face when he looked at his brother, and he put his own right hand over Thor's, giving him a slight nod telling him that he was indeed fine.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I didn't really plan what I would do after this, but I'm confident that all-father will take us in with open arms when we get your hammer back, right?"

Thor looked back at him and smiled, giving him a nod and lifting his hands from his shoulder.

"Yes, you are probably right, when Odin see us return with my hammer he will forget what happened before, and we can have a grand feast in our honor!" Thor smiled brightly as he now looked forward to and continued walking.

Loki gave him a short smile before looking away, so that his brother would not see his pained expression. The question kept playing itself over and over in Loki's head, and he imagined how his brother would react when he told him, how disgusted and angry he would be with him. He closed his eyes and tried to swallow, but it seemed that his throat had closed up, and he had an unsettling feeling in his stomach.

He looked up and walked with more firm steps, and then he looked at his brother who was now walking ahead of him with the others.

He would tell Thor the truth. When it was all over, he would reveal himself to Thor, and then he would disappear forever, never looking back.


	9. Chapter 9 Planning and infiltration

Loki stared aimlessly out of the window of the speeding "train" of which the company was currently sitting in, with Loki and Selvig sitting at one side of a small table at the trains left side, with Loki sitting against the window, and Thor, Jane and Darcy on the other side. He watched as the landscape flew before his eyes, creating a mix of green and blue as it passed by him. He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard a faint laughter, and he shifted his eyes from the view, not turning his head. He looked over at Jane and Thor who were sitting together, and it seemed that Thor had told Jane some sort of amusing tale or joke, because Jane was smiling brightly and giggling, not that it was something out of the ordinary when she was close to his brother. Loki let a quiet sigh slip by his lips as he returned his gaze to the window, though this time he had a harder time concentrating on thinking, with Jane giggling so obnoxiously loud at his brothers tame jokes. Instead his gaze and thoughts were pulled towards them, and when he gazed upon them he couldn't help the feeling that rose from the pits of his stomach and settled somewhere in the middle of his throat, effectively making it hard for him to talk or breath. He was jealous, or at least that was what he thought, because he had known the feeling almost his whole life, usually by silently staring at his brother in the shadows as his father praised him. It had always been like that; Thor was better than him at everything it seemed, be it age, muscles or popularity, especially with the girls. He squinted his eyes as he looked at the uncanny couple before him; it was painfully obvious that it wouldn't work, for starters the fact that an Asgardian can live to be over 5000 years old, which would mean that even if the two did in fact end up together, it would only be a blink of an eye to Thor's lifespan, assuming that she would even live a long life to begin with. The people of Terra was fairly weak after all, and with all the danger Thor brought, it would only be a matter of time before he hurt her, or as in most cases she would die to save him in some romantic way, declaring her undying love to him before dying. Loki huffed and looked away, already fantasizing about how he would tell his brother "I told you s-"….

His thoughts came to an abrupt stop when he realized that what he imagined would never happen, because he would leave Thor after this whole ordeal. He looked back at his brother, silently sneaking glances at his happy face. Maybe it would be good for him to have the woman, that way he would most likely forget about him faster, not that he would most likely despise him when he told him what he was.

Loki tore his gaze away as he started feeling the tears invade his eyes; He was such a mess right now, tore between just fleeing and risking Thor going after him, or telling him and risking losing the one true friend and brother who he cherished so deeply.

He closed his eyes momentarily, as if trying to stop the tears from falling and going back in. He opened the after a while when he had calmed down, and looked back at his brother. He hadn't even noticed. Maybe he wouldn't be upset if I left. Loki couldn't help but feel the jealousy burn as he watched his brother smile so fondly with the woman, who he hadn't even known for more than a week! How as it possibly that so many girls fell before his feet so fast, as it seemed that all he needed to do was show up, take off his shirt for a moment, then just wait until every wretched woman without dignity came and threw herself at him. Loki scowled, but he knew deep down that he wasn't mad at Thor, just wishing that he was him, or at least that he too had someone special who would speak and think fondly of him, who would love him, kiss him and accept him for who he was. Loki let out a quiet snort at that. Sure, most women would be intrigued if he told them that he was from far out of space, but the second he told them who he really was underneath, or maybe showed them would be a more accurate statement… Loki found himself sighing again as he looked away from the couple, trying to get the stupid thoughts that only hurt him emotionally out of his head.

The train came to a stop shortly after, and the company strode out and walked out of the station towards the city, which was pretty bleak compared to Asgard. It wasn't covered in gold, but mostly grey buildings, save for a few colored windows and glowing lamps. Loki looked everywhere at the strange place that surrounded him, from all the people with their simple clothing's, to the ancient vehicles of which they transported themselves. Not soon enough were they at the residence of his brothers "soon to be girlfriend", which weren't too different from the previous place, except the view, which was considerately worse, with only grey blocks as long as they eye could reach.

After they all had settled in the company sat down at the round table in the somewhat small living room, preparing to figure out exactly how in hell they were going to get Mjölnir out of the clutches of S.H.I.E.L.D. so that he could finally be free to do what his heart desired.

They were all currently sitting at the table, but silence hung over all of them like a sheet, with none brave enough to stick their heads up. Eventually after a lot of mumbling, mostly from Selvig who were frantically scribbling something down on several pieces of papers that were almost covering the entire table, Darcy chose to speak up.

"So… Let's just get the basics out and work from there, okay? Everybody cool with that?" Everybody nodded and stared at her silently, and she gave a nod of herself with a smile before continuing.

"Good. What we know is that this hammer of yours-"She looked and pointed at Thor for a brief moment;

"Is currently locked up in S.H.I.E.L.D.S. secret base here in London, and is heavily guarded. The chances of even getting in unnoticed are substantially low, not to mention getting out."

She paused and looked out over the table, hearing the unified humming of approval.

"Therefore it would be best if Loki-"She looked at Loki now, who woke up from his thoughts and looked rather surprised when everyone now turned their attention towards him.

"Infiltrated the facility, since they already are familiar with us."

She paused and stared at Loki, silently asking if he was okay with the plan so far.

"Could you do that?" She asked, and as Loki looked around the table, he quickly realized that he was the only hope of the company of ever getting in. He turned to his brother, who at the moment was looking at him pleadingly, with the most big and profound puppy-eyes that Loki had ever witnessed.

"Well… I… I mean…" He stammered as he was slightly overwhelmed with the role that Darcy so "graciously" had dropped on him in front of everybody, and while he was perhaps a bit angered at her, he realized that she spoke the truth, and it was quite obvious that he was the only one.

Loki closed his eyes momentarily and put his hands on his cheeks, before bringing them together in a hold.

"Yeah. I think I can." He said, watching as the others expressions changed to relieved sighs and smiles.

"Thank you Loki." Loki turned as he felt his brother's big hand rest on his shoulder, and when he saw his brothers face… He knew it would be worth it.

"Well then… What comes next? What exactly do you expect me to do down there?" Loki threw the question like a ball back to Darcy, who effectively shifted everyone's gazes back to her, and she let out a resonating "Ehm…" sound for a few seconds before looking up and speaking.

"Well you know magic right? You disguised yourself as the guards earlier, you could do that again! You could tell them to send the hammer away, to some "other" secret facility, and then we could take it!"

She looked at Loki like it was obvious, that it would be like a simple walk in the park.

Loki looked around briefly before staring down at the table, both of his arms on the table intertwined as he shut out all outside noises and concentrated. She was right about getting in, but telling those people to send something so precious away right after it had been brought wouldn't be easy, even though he was a skilled liar. He would have to manipulate them, and magic that manipulated others minds were highly forbidden, for they could be used to devastate one's mind, if not completely wipe it clean, destroying the person completely and utterly. He looked up briefly, seeing everyone looking concerned and silently wishing that he would say yes. He turned to Thor, who perhaps was looking most anxious to hear him tell that he could do it. He stared down again and sighed. He could get in easily, but he would need to manipulate quite a few people, and if things got hairy he might even need to kill a few. But that was something that the others didn't need to know, if it would ever occur. The only way to do this was by lying to them, telling them that he could do this the "right" way, which would make them happy. If breaking all the holy laws of magic use meant that his brother would be happy, and that he in return could go away with a somewhat clean conscious, then so be it.

He looked up and rubbed his hands before answering the question that lingered over everyone.

"Yes, I think… I think I could do it. But we need to plan this thing out in detail, because once I enter there is no going back."

The others smiled, maybe because they only chose to listen to the first part, or maybe they were rather confident in him. Either way, the company quickly began to elaborate the plan, now with much more enthusiasm.

When morning came the company was all set, and as they drove down the road that would lead them to the base, everyone was talking, mostly to Loki who after all was the key person in the operation. They reminded him of what he had to do, where they would be to pick up the hammer and drive away before anyone knew what had happened, and that he had to be careful. Loki listened half-heartedly, but was mostly just nicking his head and giving "Aha" or "of course" and let's not forget "yes". The truth however was that he was merely repeating the words as his attention lied beyond. He was trying to remember how he would manipulate the guards efficiently, and what he would do if he got in a tight spot.

Eventually they arrived outside of the headquarters, which looked like an old military base, in the industry are at the harbor of London.

Loki walked out of the car and took in the surroundings, trying his best to memorize it all. Selvig came around the car with his telescope and held it out to Loki, who took it and placed it on the ground. He then looked through it towards the harbor, trying to pinpoint the people who walked in and out of the place, so he would know how they dressed, so he would look the same. After a while of staring and memorizing all the details of their garments, Loki stood up after being on his knees, and with a quick snap of his fingers and a flicker of gold

Covering his body in a flash, he was transformed. His face was still the same, since he would still need to knock one guard out and steal his id badge to get inside the building. He sighed and held out his hands as the company gave him a "look over" as they say.

"How do I look?" Loki said, with a smile as he laughed a bit as the earthlings marveled at the simple performance of magic, which of course to them looked amazing.

"It looks… Good, but you will still have to be cautious, okay?" Darcy said, and looked at Loki.

"Of course." Loki replied before looking at his brother, who was looking rather uneasy with the whole ordeal.

"Loki…" He said, stepping a little closer to Loki as he said it. He stared at Loki, and even though he didn't say anything at first Loki understood. He was worried about him. It was rather sweet of him, but Thor should know that he could take care of himself by now, and if not he would soon know it.

"Be safe." He said as he gave Loki one last hug, almost crushing his bones as he held him tight against him. Loki gave a laugh, though with the limited air he had it was rather short, and he patted Thor on the back before they separated.

"Don't worry brother; I'll be back before you even know I'm gone." Loki said as he turned around, effectively shielding his face so no one could see how sad he was, knowing that that hug might've been the last he got from his brother, since he was still unsure of what he would do when it was all over, and even if he didn't run… Would Thor still hug him like he did just now if he knew what he was?

He shook his head. The last thing he needed right now was being distracted by what would happen. He needed to focus on the present. He sneaked around the area, walking a bit casually but still out of sight. Finally, he met a soldier who was walking away. When the soldier turned around the corner, Loki followed suit and put his hand with a death grip on the man's head. The man didn't even have time to react before he became stale. Loki turned his hand slightly, signaling the man to turn around so he could properly see his face.

The man, who by now was completely under Loki's control, was staring at him with dull eyes. Loki memorized everything about the man, the height, the scars, the hairs on his face, everything. When he was done he transformed quickly, but just to be sure he took up a small mirror from his inner pocket to compare. When he saw that they were indeed identical he put the mirror back and took everything the guard had on him, from the weapons to id badge. When he had everything on him he talked to the guard.

"Speak mortal." The guard began speaking, just random words, but to Loki it was important, since he needed to sound exactly like him, seeing as it would be rather suspicious if someone you knew suddenly walked in with a completely different voice. When he had put a spell on himself that made him speak with the same accent as the mortal, he told him to shut up.

"Alright…." Loki quickly checked the badge with the name of the guard.

"Anthony. You are going for a long walk, and you won't stop until you reach the end of the rainbow, okay?"

The guard nodded with a serious face, and Loki couldn't help but snicker at how serious the guard looked, seeing as he would walk really far before he reached his destination. Loki sent the guard off, but made sure that no one saw him leave, so they wouldn't be suspicious when they saw him walk away. He turned around and looked over at the entrance, fixed the cap that was now over his head.

``Here we goes nothing…´´ Loki thought to himself as he walked towards the entrance, nodding at the guards that walked by. He had also taken the liberty of peeking inside the guards memories, and he knew for the moment everyone's names, but the location of the hammer was still unknown.

He walked inside the building with ease, simply lying his way through the people who asked him questions and progressed through without any problems whatsoever.

Loki started to notice a feeling, like a certain aura, that seemed to make him happy. But why? Was it because whenever he met someone they smiled, waved or said something nice? The guard Loki had chosen seemed to be liked, and he couldn't help but smile honestly as everyone was so friendly towards him. They were like a family. And Loki was part of it. He stopped right in his tracks as the realization washed over him, like a bucket of cold ice. This was what he wanted. He wanted people to do what these people did, smile when they saw him, not look away, say nice things instead of muttering things behind his back, and giving him friendly nudges instead of shoving him into the ground. He felt a hand on his shoulder and tensed, and looked at his left side since his right side was resting against the wall in the corridor.

"Are you alright Anty? You look a little pale?" Loki looked at the man. It was one of Anthony's colleges, who were named Walter Mitty.

"Yeah Walt, I'm just… A little dizzy I guess."

Loki gave a short laugh and stood straight, trying to not appear too suspicious.

"Well… If you feel sick or anything, just tell Angela and I'm sure shell let you leave early." He said before nudging his arm slightly with his coffee mug, of which was in his right hand.

"Thanks." Loki said, nodding to Walter.

"I'll do it I feel worse, but I think it was just something I ate before, I'll be fine."

"Alright, but I bet that is Susie's chili, you know that you're not supposed to eat it, just pretend that you're eating until she looks away." Walter said with a smile before walking away.

Loki smiled a bit and shouted after the man;

"Yeah, but she didn't look away! Now I'll have to suffer at the bathroom, but thanks for the tip "dad"!"

Walter merely laughed and turned around, walking backwards as he spoke.

"Just making sure that you're okay Anthony, we care about you after all." He said with a smile before he turned around and continued to walk down the hall.

Loki stared after him, and the smile didn't leave his face as he continued to stare at the man who was walking away.

"Yeah…" Loki said silently, before turning around himself and walking away, now actually feeling a bit dizzy with all the happiness tumbling inside his stomach from being cared so much for.

Eventually he managed to find the right person that had the information he needed, and he was currently walking towards the elevator that would take him to the underground base where they kept all "alien and mysterious" things that they came over. Luckily the guard had the clearances to go down; otherwise it would have been to have two people under influence.

Loki walked into the elevator and stood in silence for a few minutes while the computer scanned his face. He was perfectly calmed on the outside, but rather nervous on the inside, since it was possible that the program would notice some change on his facial recognition, or his voice.

While the program processed Loki stood silently, thinking about the people in the building who were so nice to him. If only they knew….

When the light turned green Loki let out a small, almost unnoticeable sigh of relief, and the elevator went down. He spent the next few minutes listening to one of earth's strange songs, which succeeded in distracting him from thinking straight. When the elevator stopped Loki waked out, taking the environment in.

It was a dark corridor, with different open rooms with glass doors going all the way to a bigger room at the end of the hall. Loki strode through the hall, searching for the door with a specific number, and after walking a few minutes he found it. He dragged his card over the door and walked into the room, where one man in a lab coat was examining the hammer. Loki strode towards the man, who by now had stopped examining the fascinating object and turned his attention towards him.

"Yes?" The scientist asked, adjusting his comically huge glasses as he gave Loki a look-over.

"What is it?" he said.

"The hammer will be moved, so we need you to tell your guys to take it to the trucks so we can leave." Loki said with a calm voice.

"Moved?! But it just got here? Why is it going to be moved?" The man said, and if it hadn't been for the security cameras Loki would have simply brainwashed the man. Instead he gave a strained smile.

"The hammer has to be moved since our location has been compromised. We believe that Hydra has infiltrated the building, and are trying to get the hammer, therefore we must move it."

"Oh? But if that's so, why didn't I hear about earlier, and what if they are already inside?"

Loki couldn't help but snicker at the comment.

"Well, that's just it, since we don't know which people work for Hydra, were trying to keep this a secret, so that as few people as possible know about it. That way Hydra will hopefully not get their hands on it."

"Alright, I guess that makes sense, and it's no surprise that they are here, though I didn't think they were after the hammer…"

Loki's interest was piqued, and he looked at the man with a confused look.

"Why else would they be here?"

The scientist looked up at Loki with a mild surprised expression.

"Haven't you heard? We infiltrated one of their bases a few weeks ago, and when we ransacked the place we found that-"The scientist pointed towards the room on the opposite side of the corridor, that had ice covering the surface.

"We were really surprised when they brought it in, and though we don't know all the details about it, I'm sure that they are eager to get it back."

Loki slowly made his way out of the room and to the other side of the corridor, walking towards the glass door. He opened it and walked inside, the cold air hitting him in his face and invading his lungs, though being what he was it was actually quite refreshing. He stalked towards what looked like a tube tall enough to put someone in, with a panel describing readings on it. The tube was standing upright, and Loki walked closer, stretching out his right hand as he got closer.

"It's actually a miracle that he is still alive, and I am really confused to why they had him in the first place."

Loki stopped slightly and looked at the human who was now packing up his stuff, before continuing to walk towards the tube. He put his hand against the glass, and with a twitch of his hand the ice covering the tube retreated into his palm, showing him what was inside. It was a man. He looked young, with dark brown bangs covering his unshaved face, and perhaps most notably was the metallic arm with a red star on the shoulder, most likely working as a replacement. Loki trembled slightly as his gaze turned downwards, towards a note that was at the side of the tube. He picked up the tag and read it silently.

"Subject: 87

Age: 27

Name: James Buchanan Barnes.

Codename: The Winter Soldier."


	10. Chapter 10 unveiled pasts and mayhem

Loki lout a shuddered breath that plastered itself over the glass separating him and the mysterious frozen man. He studied the man's face, noticing the dark circles under his eyes and the small stubble of beard that covered his face. He slowly turned around towards the scientist, who was still picking up his equipment and packing it down.

"Who is he?" Loki asked, not exactly sure why, but something about this man… intrigued him. He locked eyes with the scientist whose head quickly snapped up at the question, and Loki tried not to sound too curious or look like he cared if he didn't tell him.

The scientist who was named Bobinski judging by the small plastic card stuck on his coat (what kind of name is that?) Loki thought to himself, adjusted his glasses as he looked towards Loki who was standing across the room on the other side beside the frozen man.

"Ah… Well we aren't a hundred percent sure as of yet, but it would seem that man was in fact a former US soldier, who we assumed was dead."

When he only received a confounded look from Loki, Bobinski put down the chart he was holding and strutted towards Loki.

"He was Captain America's best friend, and tragically he suffered the same fate as him, though infinitely worse. We believe that Hydra found him, if he now truly is who the tag says he is of course. I can only imagine what horrible things they did to him, and I wouldn't be surprised if he has no recollection of what he was before. It's a shame really… Someone so pure hearted like him, turned into a monster… Such a pity."

"A monster?" Loki turned away from staring at the man in the tube and looked at the scientist.

"What do you mean?"

The scientist ran a hand through his short hair and scratched his chin lightly, as if he was trying to remember something.

"Well… The codename is the "Winter Soldier", a man who is known to have murdered a lot of people, including one of our presidents." The scientist said, now staring at the frozen man, with Loki soon following suit.

"He is wanted by a lot of people, or at least those who still believe that he exists. After all he has done… Can you think of what it is being him? Being hated by so many, having been put on an unfaithful path, while you never did anything wrong… Can you imagine that?" The man turned and looked at Loki, who by now had a clump in his throat. He kept his gaze at the frozen man before him, not looking away. He took a long breath and stared at the frozen soldier before answering in a breath;

"Yeah… I think I do…" He eventually looked back at the scientist who also seemed to be deeply emerged in his own thoughts.

"What will become of him?" The scientist looked at him and sighed.

"Well… After all he has done I think we both know what is coming. We will defrost him, interrogate him about all he knows, and after that… He will be executed."

Loki stared at him in disbelief.

"But you can't do that! He hasn't done anything wrong! Hydra forced him to do what he did!"

The scientist shook his head and gnawed on his lower lip, clearly uneasy about it too.

"That may be… But I doubt that there is anything left of what he once was. We are very confident that Hydra has erased all of what he was before, which would essentially mean that they already killed him a long time ago, leaving only this… Empty shell of a man turned into a killing machine left. He is no longer who he used to be, and we think it would be best if was put to rest."

"Put to rest?!" Loki was almost fuming with rage right now and very near to drop his mask, which was how angry he was with the earthlings.

"Im not glad about it either, but think of it… Wouldn't it just be best for him and everybody else if he just… Died? He has no family, and I don't think that Captain America should see his former comrade like… this." The scientist stretched out his arm, emphasizing his point by stretching it towards the tube with the frozen man. He turned around and walked back to the table, picking up his equipment and putting it in cases. Loki grinded his teeth, feeling furious at the moment. However, he collected himself, reminding himself that he had a job to do.

He turned around, but his feet were frozen in place, and he stood still at the spot. He looked back at the man behind him. He stared at him, before looking away and started to lift his right leg. But he seemed to have a hard time walking, and he couldn't get the man out of his head. He swore and put his leg back, staring down at the floor. This man was like him, someone who had started out pure, but led astray by people who wanted to control him. Loki swore about a hundred Asgardian curses before silently muttering a spell, causing his communications device to ring. He picked it up and pretended to be listening to someone speak.

"Yes? Really? I see." He put it back in its holster, and the scientist looked at him now, curious as to what had been said.

Loki looked at him.

"It was from upstairs; they just called and told me that he is going to be moved too."

The scientist looked at him with a bit of confounded look.

"Really?" The man said, and Loki could see that he was a wee bit suspicious. Loki adjusted his position and remained a calm posture and face while replying.

"Yes, it was first our plan to sneak away our things separately, but we don't have that much time, meaning that we have to get as much as we can out of here before they come."

The scientist looked at him for a fragment of a second, before nodding, as to say that he understood, and he picked up his pace a notch.

The elevator shaft opened suddenly, with ten soldiers walking in. Loki snapped his head and looked at them as they came in. They walked towards the scientist.

"We just got word that Hydra is coming, we need to move all of this out right now!" The man said and Loki screamed silently inside.

``You have got to be kidding me.´´ Loki thought to himself, as his plan turned into chaos.

The scientist nodded at the words.

"I already know, this man told me and I am packing up as fast as I can, but I wouldn't mind if you helped me.

The man leading the soldier looked at Loki briefly, who had a calm face, but was in full panic mode inside. He gave a short nod at Loki before looking back at his men.

"Alright! Help him move all of this to the trucks, and put your backs into it! I want his place to be empty in an hour, and after that you will report back to me, understand!?"

"Yes Sir!" The men said simultaneously, spreading out and starting to pack up everything.

The leader walked over to Loki, giving him a nudge on his shoulder before walking towards the elevator.

Loki swore every single word he could think of as he too started to pack up.

Why? Why did it have to come true? He asked himself as he paced around, helping the others pack up.

After almost an hour they were done, and almost all the soldiers were gone by now. Loki looked around for the scientist, who was in a secluded room, with much bigger doors than the others. Loki walked in, and the scientist almost jumped at the noise before he saw that it was a fellow soldier, or at least what appeared as one.

"Are you alright?" Loki asked, as the man was fumbling with a big briefcase, and he looked very nervous.

"Yes, I am quite fine, just a tad bit nervous. This thing-"He held up the closed briefcase-

"Is the single most important thing we have gotten our hands on. I am supposed to take it to a special truck, but I can't find the keys, and I am really stressing out and-"

Loki walked towards the man with a somewhat strained smile.

"Calm down, I will help you find this key, and then we can get out of here, okay?" The scientist smiled and dried his forehead with a dusty napkin from his inner pocket on his coat.

"Alright." He said, but before he could say anything more the whole room shook, and he was thrown to the side of the room, crashing his head against the wall. Loki tumbled too, and he fell. Loki swore loudly, and ran to the man. He had blood running from his head, but appeared to be alive. There were now red lamps blinking and beeping, and to Loki's horror the giant doors were closing.

He ran towards the doors, but it was too late, and no matter what he did they would not budge. He tried over twenty spells to open them, but it seemed to have little to no effect. Loki swore loudly, running his hands through his black hair.

Okay. He was trapped underground, with possibly an entire army coming to get him, and he couldn't get out. Perfect. He looked around, seeing a lot of scraps and alien technology lying around. Maybe magic didn't work… But he **could** build something, something that could hack the security system and get him out… Loki quickly threw himself on the floor; picking up all the components he could find that weren't broken or ineffective. He put everything he had gathered on the table, and began putting it together the best he could. Thankfully he had a few gadgets in the room that could help him, and he knew a few spells that aided him. He was halfway done with tool when he came to a sudden stop; He needed a power source, and a simple "Battery" wouldn't do. He needed something more powerful than that, but looking around he found that everything of use was already on the table, except… The briefcase. Loki ran to the man, picking up the briefcase. He put it on the table, and prayed silently before opening it.

``Please… Let it be useful.´´ Loki thought as he opened his eyes and looked at what was inside. What he saw took his breath away.

It was one of the infinity stones. It was the Tesseract! How in the name of hell had the earthlings got their hand on it? Loki paused momentarily, recalling an energy pulse that had been detected over seventy years ago, which at the time had been something the Asgardians had ignored, passing it of as nothing worth investigating. Loki thanked all the stars they hadn't; otherwise he wouldn't have it now. He was however stuck at the moment, because while the Tesseract had infinite energy, it was too big for his device.

He quickly came up with an idea, and picked up one of his trusty Asgardian knives, holding it against his mouth. He whispered a few enchanted words, before placing the knife at one of the corners of the cube. With one swift motion he cut of the end piece, creating a small crystal, the size of his little finger. Loki quickly picked it up and examined it. It was still glowing blue, and when he looked back at the cube he saw as the cube replaced the missing part, as if it had a conscious that healed itself. Loki looked at the cube for a moment with a marveled expression, but dismissed it. He put the crystal inside his device and finished the last few things. He stood up and examined his work; It was a tool shaped like the handle of a sword, except it had a more expanded variety of colors, with silver and gold covering it, with a bit of white at the bottom, as well as a green orb at the top, with four protective arms surrounding it, that would move out when he activated it. He experimentally started it, and the green orb at the top glowed, giving of a sonic buzzing.

``Sonic…´´ Loki thought to himself. What was it Darcy had told him when he asked about one of tools in their apartment? Was it a screwdriver?

He looked at his device and thought to himself;

``A sonic "Screwdriver"…´´ not too shabby Loki thought as he twirled around and marched towards the door.

(Authors note; for those who don't know, the device Loki has built is a tool from "Doctor Who", a popular British TV-series. I am well aware that most people know, but just in case I wanted everyone to know. This screwdriver is the exact same that the 11th Doctor uses.)

Loki strode towards the door, and held out his sonic screwdriver like a wand, pointing it at the security panel.

"Hope this works…" Loki muttered as he started it, and the screwdriver activated, with the green light shining onto the panel, while giving of that familiar buzzing. In a matter of seconds the door opened, and Loki almost jumped with joy, kissing his tool as he quickly made his way out. He put the screwdriver securely in his pocket, seeing as it could come in handy later.

He ran through the halls, trying to find the truck with the hammer in it. Soldiers were running around, and he could hear shooting in the distance.

He came to the hangar, where all the trucks stood with the various things from the hall he was in earlier. He looked around, trying to see if he could spot the right one. Loki was breathing heavily, with a small layer of sweat covering his body, most likely because he was so stressed, seeing as this place would most likely soon be run over by Hydra soldiers, and Loki did not fancy being down here with the humans shooting at each other's throats. He just wanted to get out.

Loki paced around, and thankfully a soldier ran up to him.

"Do you need help?" The man asked, with a machine gun in his arms and panic in his eyes.

"Yes, I need to know which one of these trucks contains the hammer that we picked up a few days ago, because I am supposed to be on it and guard it while they transport it out of here."

"Didn't they tell you which one?" The guard asked, and Loki merely shook his head. The guard didn't seem entirely convinced, but given the moment he didn't have time to question Loki about the details. The guard pointed towards one of the trucks at the far end of the hangar, and Loki thanked him before running towards it.

He came to the truck and climbed inside; there was no one there, except for the hammer, a few machines and… And the frozen soldier. Loki walked to him slowly, coming to a halt when he stood in front of him. He put one of his hands on the glass and stared at him silently, thinking about the day's events.

Eventually he put his hand down and sat at the bench inside in the truck, catching his breath. Loki put his hands together and looked down at the dusty metallic floor of the truck. He heard someone walk into the passenger seat, and the truck started moving. The man who drove the truck suddenly put on some kind of device that seemed to play music, most likely that thing that was called "radio" that Thor had spoken to him so excitedly about. A song played, and Loki was brought out of his thoughts and listened to what they sang;

(Quick note; The song is called "Would it matter" by Skillet, try opening a tab and listen to it while reading, it will make it more emotional )

"If I wasn't here tomorrow, would anybody care? ~

"If my time was up id wanna know~

"You were happy I was there~

"If I wasn't here tomorrow, would anyone lose their sleep? ~

"If I wasn't hard and hollow~

"Then maybe you would miss me~

"I know I'm a mess and I wanna be someone~

"Someone that I'd like better~

"I can never forget, so don't remind me of it forever, forever... ~

"What if I just pulled myself together? ~

"Would it matter at all? ~

"What if I just tried not to remember? ~

"Would it matter at all? ~

"All the chances that have passed me by~

"Would it matter if I gave it one more try? ~

"... Would it matter at all...? ~

The song continued playing without the man singing for a moment, and it wasn't until then that Loki realized that he was crying, with tears running over his cheeks. He held up his hand and felt the wet streak on his cheek, and he felt his mind being overrun with memories, memories that seemed to have been brought up by that song. Loki was silent, and continued to listen to the song, feeling more tears coming, as he remembered his past, all the times he wished he was dead, all the people who told him that he shouldn't have been born, that his very existence was a crime, and that everybody would be better off if he was dead.

"If I wasn't here tomorrow, would anybody care? ~

"Still stuck inside this sorrow~

"I got nothin´ and going nowhere~

"I know I'm a mess and I wanna be someone~

"Someone that I'd like better~

"I can never forget, so don't remind me of it forever~

"What if I just pulled myself together? ~

"Would it matter at all? ~

"What if I just tried not to remember~

"Would it matter at all? ~

"All the chances that have passed me by~

"Would it matter if I gave it one more try? ~

"Would it matter at all? ~

Loki put his hand on his eyes, shutting them tight while trying to fend of the flood of bad memories that came to his mind. He didn't know who was singing, but it was like he was speaking to him, like he knew him, as if it was him singing.

"I know I'm a mess and I wanna be someone~

"Someone that I'd like better~

"Can you help me forget, don't wanna feel like this forever, forever! ~

"What if I just pulled myself together~

"Would it matter at all? ~

"What if I just tried not to remember? ~

"Would it matter at all? ~

"All the chances that have passed me by~

"Would it matter if I gave it one more try? ~

"If I left tomorrow, would anybody care?! ~

"Stuck in this sorrow~

"Going nowhere! ~

"All the chances that have passed me by! ~

"Would it matter if I gave it one more try? ~

"Would it matter at all...? ~

The truck came to a sudden stop, and the driver turned off the music.

Loki quickly wiped his face with his sleeve, and tried to build up his posture and remain somewhat calm, though perhaps he should look rather panicked, seeing as most agents and soldiers were at the moment.

Loki heard the sounds of footsteps, and before long there was a soldier standing at the end of the truck, looking inside. When his gaze found Loki he stared at him with a troubled look.

"Oi!" He shouted, motioning with his hand to tell Loki to come closer. Loki remained calm and rose from his spot on the bench and walked towards the man.

"What are you doing in there?" He asked, staring intently at Loki.

"I'm supposed to be guarding these things in case Hydra tries to hijack the truck." Loki said, and met the man's gaze with equal power, not flinching for even a second.

The man squinted his eyes.

"I didn't hear about that." He said, and Loki could see the man slowly reach for his gun behind his back.

"Well they pretty much shouted it at me, seeing as we are under attack. You're welcome to check it up with the people upstairs, but I think they are a bit preoccupied with all the mayhem Hydra is causing at the moment."

The soldier seemed a bit baffled at Loki's comment, but nodded and removed his hand from his gun.

"See to it that they don't get it then." He said, and pulled down the cover on the truck and walking towards his station. The truck started moving again, though this time the driver didn't put on the music. It was probably for the best.

They drove for a few minutes, most likely driving though a long tunnel under the city, and Loki sat in silence as the truck drove.

Eventually they drove up a hill, and Loki could only assume that they were above ground right now. Loki remembered suddenly that Thor and the others wouldn't be far from where he was right now, since Heimdall had seen this path, and right now his brother and the rest were waiting for him. Loki swore, knowing that that Hydra group which was currently attacking the building was most likely coming after him, and since Thor was stripped from all his powers, he was very vulnerable.

They drove for a minute, and Loki didn't even have enough time to scream when the truck tumbled over, caused by a big blast at the side. The truck rolled, everything inside was secured at the ground, save from Loki, who was currently tumbling around inside, and despite his near invulnerability, received more than a few bruises from being cast around. When the truck final settled on the ground, with its left side on the ground and the left upright with a big hole, Loki stood up on his shaky legs and swore as he climbed up and heaved himself over the side, landing somewhat graciously onto the ground.

He looked around; they appeared to on a flat landscape, very similar to that outside of the town where Heimdall had beamed the down.

He saw people walking towards the truck, machine guns pointed at him and yelling at him to put his hands up. Loki smirked a little, and put up with the charade. He held his hand above his head, and when the soldier were close enough he pulled out his knives the he had hidden in his sleeves, throwing them at the two soldiers. The soldier in the middle screamed when he saw his comrade's fall, with blood gushing out of their throats. He directed his gun towards Loki, but ii was to no avail; Loki had already pulled out his sonic screwdriver, and with a simple click he had dismantled the man's gun in less than a second. The man tried to fire it, and when he couldn't he looked at Loki, who was now right in front of him. Loki punched him swiftly, rendering him unconscious. Loki looked around, knowing that it would only be a matter of seconds before more of them arrived. He ran to the truck, looking inside the passenger seat; the driver was dead. Loki took out his screwdriver and adjusted it before pointing at the side of the truck. This time a green laser came out, and Loki cut of the entire side of the truck, then pulling it off.

Everything looked alright, save for a few cracks on the tube that the frozen soldier was in. Loki looked towards the truck that the Hydra agents had come from, and he realized that he could use it to get the hammer away from the place. Loki marched towards the truck and looked inside, just now remembering that he didn't know how to drive these primitive vehicles, and he had killed the only people who knew.

Loki tried to think of something, but was interrupted by a shout;

"Hey!" Loki's head snapped up, causing him to bang it on the trucks ceiling.

Loki put his hand over the spot that hurt and looked towards whoever it was that was shouting at him.

It was Darcy who had shouted, and to Loki's dismay it also appeared to be everyone else. She was waving happily, with the others following her.

"What are you doing here?!" He shouted, walking towards them in a fast pace.

"Eeeh, let's see… Picking up the hammer? Like we talked about? Or have you forgotten?" Darcy said, and Loki was possibly fuming with rage over the sarcastic tone, possibly because his head hurt, there was Hydra agents coming, and now he had to look out for them as well.

"It's not safe here, there are Hydra agents coming any second now, and the truck that the hammer was in is badly damaged- Loki pointed towards the destroyed truck, and the others gazes locked onto it, with their smiles disappearing.

"Well can't we use this truck then?" Jane said, and Loki stared at her, just now releasing that she could drive this vehicle.

"Yes… Yes we can!" Loki said, smiling a bit. He quickly turned towards the truck and muttered a long spell. Soon enough the hammer and the rock connected to it rose from the truck, and started to sway its way towards the other truck. Thor and Selvig quickly opened the doors, and Loki dropped the hammer inside. Thor was standing still at the entrance of the truck, seemingly dazzled and brimming with happiness after finally seeing his beloved hammer again.

The group was just getting ready to get to the truck when they heard another shout, who didn't sound as friendly as Darcy's.

It was more Hydra agents, possibly twenty of them right now. The group stood still as they came closer, and put their hands behind their heads. The soldiers inspected the damaged truck, as well as the one where the hammer was.

A man pulled off his mask, revealing his face. He had a small beard, with brown hair that stood up, and he laughed a bit as he looked at the company before him.

"Well, I supposed I should thank you for bringing our stuff back, and lifting the hammer into a new truck!" He said, laughing and showing a big grin. Half the soldiers behind him were already at the other truck, bringing out the machines that were inside. The man turned around and started walking towards one of the trucks.

"Kill them." He said, and ten men lifted their guns and pointed them towards the group. Loki looked at the others, Darcy with her eyes wide open, Selvig with his eyes closed, Jane with her mouth closed and Thor who was looking at him. Loki reacted in less than a second, pulling out his screwdriver and activating it. The soldiers fired, but the group was shielded by a green wall. The leader turned around surprised, and shouted at the others to fire at them as well, and they surrounded them in a circle, rendering Loki's shield ineffective, since he could only cover one side. They were now surrounding them, awaiting orders from their leader.

The leader stood a few feet away from them and gave a short laugh while shaking his head while he had his hands on his hips.

"You know… That was really unexpected, and you have my respect for it. However, it will not save you. Kill them." He said and turned around, but was stopped by a shout, coming from Jane;

"Stop this!" She screamed, and the man turned around yet again, locking his eyes with hers.

"Why?" He said with an amused tone in his voice.

"Because…- Jane said, and she didn't waver her gaze as she met the Hydra leaders gaze.

"You already have what you came for. If you just take it and leave, we won't be a problem. Our truck is damaged, so we can't follow you even if we wanted to."

The man looked at her and then towards the truck, as if he was considering.

"Hmm… I could do that…- He said, and Jane seemed to relax a bit.

"Or I could just kill you right now." He said and laughed.

"You cold-hearted monster!" Jane screamed, and her eyes were filled with rage.

The man turned his head and squinted his eyes.

"Kill her first." He said before walking away.

One soldier pointed his gun towards Jane and shot. Loki didn't even have time to react, and in less than a second a body hit the ground. But it wasn't Jane's;

It was Thor's. Loki's eyes widened and he watched as his brother's body laid on the ground, a pool of red blood pouring out of his stomach. Loki roared in fury, and a gigantic wave of magic was released from him, throwing the hydra agents meters away from them. He quickly ran to his brother who was lying on the ground, his head resting on Jane's lap. He quickly put his hand over the wound, but it was nothing he could do. He looked at his brother with teary eyes, and he saw his brother smiling brightly, his blue eyes shining in the daylight.

"I'm sorry…" He muttered, and closed his eyes.

Loki cried as he looked at his brother.

"No… You can't… You can't die! Don't leave me Thor, you promised! Do you remember?! When we were little, you promised that you would always be there for me?! Don't break your promise to me!"

Loki shouted at Thor, with tears running over his cheeks.

The others were also crying, and Jane's tears fell on Thor's hair.

"No…" She whispered as her tears fell.

Thor was dead.


	11. Chapter 11 resurrection and goose chase

Loki were on his knees, with both of his hands on either side of him, both of them covered in his brothers blood that was still gushing out of him. Loki stared at his brother with almost dull eyes, and he could feel a tsunami of utter and complete rage wash over him, and he turned his gaze from his brother and towards the people responsible for causing his death. He rose from his knees and was but a second from releasing hell upon those who had attacked them, when a rumbling in the sky interrupted his thoughts and broke his trance of anger. He turned his attention upwards, and he could now see dark clouds gathering, as well as the roaring of thunder, lighting up the entire sky.

An immense thunderbolt struck down, and Loki nearly didn't have enough time to use his magic to send Jane away before the bolt struck Thor, even though he had foreseen it. Another one struck down, this time at the truck the hammer was in. The whole truck went up in flames, and from it Mjölnir came, swooshing towards Thor, who miraculously managed to catch it. He slowly stood up, his bleeding coming to an end, and for a brief moment he was engulfed in what appeared to be a small tornado, circling around him. When the dirt that hung around him cleared, when the tornado and clouds had somewhat settled, Loki saw his brother, this time wearing his Asgardian garments, accompanied with his red cape. Thor looked over at Loki who stood a far bit from him with a dumbstruck expression, most likely because he hadn't seen something like that in all of his years. Thor gave him a serious look and a small smile, before looking back to check that the others were okay. When he had confirmed that they had but a few bruises he turned around and walked towards the Hydra soldiers. They raised their weapons, with the leader screaming at them, but it was to no avail. Thor swung his mighty hammer, sending half of them away, and Loki created numerous duplicates among the midst of them, tricking the soldiers to fire at themselves. When everything settled there was many of them running back to whence they came, as well as a few on the ground, trying to tend to their wounds.

Jane ran towards Thor, hugging him tightly, while Selvig and Darcy looked around the area. Loki watched the hug from afar, and his previous smirk dropped. Loki looked around himself, knowing that there would soon come even more soldiers from Hydra, and probably S.H.I.E.L.D. too. He let out a little sigh and ran a hand through his messy hair, trying to get it in some form of order. He turned his attention back to the other truck, the one with the frozen soldier in it. Loki quickly walked over, wanting to know if he was still in there. When he came close enough he saw to his horror that the tube was gone. The soldiers had taken it while they were fighting. Loki swore and hit the side of the truck, creating a hole in the metal. He had to get that man back.

Loki turned around seeing the others walking towards him, all of them smiling, though he knew himself that they were all scared underneath.

"Are you alright?" Darcy asked, looking over him.

"Yes I am fine, but we have to get out of here, there will be more soldiers coming, and none of them will be friendly I suspect." Loki said, looking out at the company who nodded.

"Heimdall could take us home." Thor said, looking at Loki.

"No, not me. He can take you, but not me. I still have something to do."

Thor looked at him with a confused look.

"What do you have to do? I have my strength and hammer back, and we are all gathered here, what do you have to do that is so important?"

Loki breathed a bit before answering;

"There was a man… I found him inside the base. He was trapped and frozen inside a tube, and I want to help him. The soldiers took him and I need to go after them and get him."

Loki looked at Thor who was looking at him in silence, with Jane and Darcy looking at each other and Selvig scratching his face.

"Why do you want to help him so?" Thor asked him, looking at him with an unwavering gaze.

"Because…" Loki said, trying not to reveal that the man had so much in common with him.

"He is trapped against his will, and that isn't right. He deserves to be free like us." Loki said, stretching his spine and standing tall with a firm look on his eyes. The company was silent for a few moments, before Thor gave him a nod and put his hammer at his hip, while walking towards him.

"Alright. I will help you find this man and free him." Thor said, putting his giant left hand on Loki's shoulder and shaking him a bit while flashing him a warm smile. Loki smiled and put his own hand on Thor's while smiling himself. Thor put down his hand after a short while and turned around, being met with the others looking at him like he just agreed to do something incredibly stupid, which was actually not far from what it actually was.

"Will you come with us?" Thor said, looking at the others who seemed a bit terrified at the suggestion.

Jane looked at the both of them before nodding.

"Okay."

Selvig looked around a bit before also nodding.

"Well it is certainly a better option than standing around here, that's for sure."

Everybody was now staring at Darcy, who let out a loud sigh.

"Aaah crap… We just survived all this crap! Do you guys have some sort of death wish?"

"You don't have to come with us." Loki said, looking at her with a small smile.

"Yeah right, and be called a chicken for the rest of my life? I don't think so fancy pants." And with that the company quickly strode over to one of the abandoned Hydra trucks, Jane and Darcy sitting in the passenger seat while the others sat in the back. Jane saw two trucks drive away in the distance, and Thor, Loki and Selvig almost hit the back of the truck wall when she stepped on the pedal. They drove fast, and Loki walked to the front of the truck where there was a small window that you could see through, into the passenger seat. Jane turned her head to her side and when she saw it was him she spoke, though the rocky road made it a little bit hard for her to speak properly;

"Do you by any luck know which one of them has your pal?

Loki looked ahead, and he could now see the two trucks in front of them, not too far ahead. Loki closed his eyes and reached out with his mind, trying to detect the same signal that the man had when he were in the base. After a few minutes he locked onto his position, and he opened his eyes and pointed his finger on the truck on the left.

"That one! That is the truck with him."

"Alright, then I will smash it and get him out." Thor said who was getting a bit restless, still having the anger and adrenaline running through him from the fight earlier.

"No!" Loki shouted, putting a hand against Thor's chest.

"That could kill him. We need to stop the truck and get him out safely, otherwise he might die."

Thor's mouth was by now a thin line, and Loki could tell that he was really eager to fight, but nonetheless he nodded in an understanding matter.

They drove faster than ever, but the trucks in front of them had a head start, and it seemed unlikely that they would catch up at the moment.

Loki looked around, trying to figure out something or something that he had that could help, and it was in that moment that he felt his device, still lying securely in his inner pocket. He took it out and held it in his palm, trying to think of what he could do with it.

"What is that, some kind of laser pointer?" Selvig asked who seemed pretty intrigued about his screwdriver. Loki stared at him for a moment, before a big smile showed on his face.

"Something like that." He said, and pointed it at the ceiling and activating it which created a green laser that cut through the roof. He created a small opening that he could climb out of, and the plate fell to the floor. Loki put his screwdriver back in his pocket and gave it a light pat, as if he was thanking it for aiding him, before climbing up and through the hole. He now had half his body above the truck, with the rest inside, dangling a bit. He looked ahead and saw the two trucks. Loki opened his left hand but didn't move his arm, since he used it as leverage to hold himself up.

"What are you doing?!" Thor shouted from the inside, poking him in his side, just in case he didn't hear him.

"I am trying to slow the truck down so we can catch up, and it would help me if you didn't poke me!" Loki shouted back, trying to concentrate, though with the wind blowing in his face and the dust getting in his eyes, concentrating proved a very difficult task. Loki closed his eyes and tried his best to focus, to use the magic that his mother had taught him, since she was the one who had tutored him in his training. He reached out with his extended arm of magic, and tried to grab hold of the truck. He calmed himself, shutting out everything; the truck going up and down, his beating heart, the wind that blew, the sand that got on him. Everything was gone except him, isolated in his own bubble, reaching out to take hold of the truck that was in front of them.

Loki felt his hand moving along the road, and finally he managed to take hold of the truck, not stopping it, since it could crash then, but holding it back so it slowed down somewhat. Jane was now gaining speed and shortening out the distance between them, and soon they were alongside each other.

"Why hello there!" Darcy shouted, effectively catching the other man driving the Hydra trucks attention

"Lovely day to drive at insane speed in the outlands, isn't? How about you slow down for a bit so we can talk more about the weather?"

The other man didn't seem too affected, but to Darcy and the others dismay he turned slightly to his right, and Loki knew that he was planning to ram right into them. However, before anyone could do anything that involved possibly killing each other, there was a loud noise, like a giant ship above them…

Loki looked up, and noticed a massive ship hovering over them, and by the looks of it descending towards them. The others had noticed too, and Loki could hear Darcy shout;

"No freaking way! A helicarrier? Seriously? Are the Avengers coming too?"

Loki looked down at the side Darcy was on and hit the trucks side with his hand while shouting her name, gaining her attention.

"What is that ship? Who does it belong to?"

Darcy turned her head around the best she could and looked up at him before shouting;

"It's S.H.I.E.L.D.: s ship! They are probably after Hydra, and… We are driving in a Hydra truck…" Darcy quickly returned inside the passenger seat and looked at Jane with wide eyes.

"We have to get out of this car right now! God knows what they are planning to do if they brought a freaking Helicarrier, they might try to blow us up!"

Jane looked at her, and she had the same idea of what might happen, but before she could slow down or react her attention was brought to the road ahead of them, which was now occupied by the Helicarrier, who seemed to be hovering just above the ground, with a giant landing platform brought out in front of them. The ship slowed down, and all the trucks didn't have time to move out of the way, leading to them effectively driving onto the Helicarrier, which quickly closed the platform behind them and drove upwards to the sky.

Jane had now hit the brakes and they were standing completely still, with S.H.I.E.L.D. agents surrounding them everywhere, everyone with weapons pointing at them. Loki looked out and saw a man in a black coat with an eye patch standing in front of them, with a megaphone in his hands.

"Hydra agents! Come out of your trucks with your hands above your heads! You are completely surrounded, and any attempt to resist will be pointless, so I suggest for your own safety that you cooperate with us."

The man shouted, and his voice echoed through the gigantic room filled with people. It was then that Darcy burst out of her seat and out into the open, drawing everyone's attention and weapons to her.

"Don't shoot! We aren't Hydra, we are just a couple of people who got caught in the crossfire, and we have nothing to do with this!"

She shouted, and the soldiers seemed to believe her, seeing as she was wearing her ordinary clothes, and that she was unarmed with a small army surrounding her. Jane and the others also walked out, and when Thor walked out there was a murmur around the circle of soldiers. One man walked forth, and Thor knew who it was, the man who had interrogated him, the son of Coul.

"We mean you no harm." Thor said, and he held his hands up to prove that he meant no harm indeed.

"Well it just so happens that we do."

Thor and the others turned around, and Loki only had a second to register the Hydra agent that had walked out of his truck with a giant weapon, of which he fired at the crowd surrounding them. That was when all hell broke out, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents shooting at Hydra who shot back, and Jane, Darcy, Selvig and Thor running away from the truck, trying to get away from the shooting, all except Loki, who still intended to get that man out of his frozen prison before leaving.

Loki quickly made his way out of the truck, running towards the other truck that had the frozen man inside, but before he could reach it a machine on the ceiling of the Helicarrier shot at it, and the truck received a giant blow, knocking it to its side and bursting it into flames.

"**NO!"** Loki screamed, running faster than he thought possible towards the truck, and when he reached it he went inside, only to find that the tube was smashed, with the man lying unconscious on the floor, flames licking him.

Loki quickly made his way over to him and picked him up bridal style, before going out of the truck and making his way away from it. He was only a few feet from it when it exploded, and Loki shielded the man with his body from the parts of the truck that flew over the place. He managed to get to a wall with a staircase, but before he could catch his breath there was another explosion, this time somewhere above the Helicarrier.

"Attention everyone! There has been a security breach; Hydra is attacking us from above, all available forces report immediately!" A female voice spoke, and Loki could feel the panic rising. Loki ran with the man upwards, trying to get away from the shooting, and though he looked everywhere he couldn't see Thor or the others.

Loki came to an empty room and put the man down on the floor to see if he was okay. He seemed alright except for a few bruises on his head and chest, which Loki tended to. The man had currently his head resting in Loki's lap as he sat on the floor with his hands on his chest, healing his wounds. It was at that moment that the man opened his eyes, slowly blinking and adjusting to the light before looking at Loki.

"Who… Are you?" He asked, looking at Loki who now was in a small chock since the man had suddenly woken up.

"Oh… I… Well I am Loki. I found you frozen in a base underground, so I thought I woul-"

"Where am I?" The man asked as he turned his head around, trying to see where he was.

"You are currently at what I was told was a Helicarrier, a big ship that S.H.I.E.L.D. owns, an-"

"S.H.I.E.L.D.?! The man shouted, and suddenly he flung up, walking backwards and away from Loki as he stared at him with wide eyes that now seemed to have a darker undertone then when he had first seen Loki.

"Are you one of them?" He asked, and Loki could see that "yes" was probably not the right answer.

"No, I am not. I just happened to be here, and I have been trying to save you."

The other man stared at him for a moment before seemingly lowering his guard, accepting his answer as truthful.

Their attention was however brought away from each other as a man burst in with a gun pointing at the man he had just saved. But before he could shoot Loki hit him square in the head, making him unconscious. The man nodded at him, but just as he was about to make his first step to the entrance another blast came, this time hitting the wall behind and sucking him out into the sky. Loki quickly grabbed his metallic arm with his right hand, and held tightly onto the door handle with the other. The entire room was now tilting to the side, and Loki held onto him with all his strength.

Thankfully the ship returned to its normal state, though so quickly that the other man fell on top of Loki, who flushed a bit having the man so close and lying on top of him. The man stayed still for a moment, and both of them were staring into each other's eyes for a brief moment. Loki could feel the man's breath tickling his skin, as well as his own cheeks heating up, and Loki shuddered at how close the man's face was to his. Then it was over, with the man quickly rising to his feet and running out the door.

Loki took a moment to get to his feet, partially because he was still in a bit of a daze from the previous moment, though he would deny anything supporting that it was true, like how red his cheeks were or how flustered he was. When Loki came out of the door he was met with utter chaos; there had been more Hydra agents pouring in from above, and they were all fighting each other. As Loki ran after the man he saw quite a few odd people participating in the fight, for instance there was a man with a bow, a women with red hair who kicked down a considerate amount of people, a man with iron wings attached to his back flying around, and what appeared to Loki's horror as a giant green monster practically tossing away anyone who dared go near him.

"I have to find the others." Loki thought to himself as he ran, but he was still thinking about the man. Why was that? He had freed the man, and if he was who he was Loki had no doubt that he could take care of himself. But still… He had been manipulated, something Loki was very familiar with, and he really wanted to help him with that, then the man could do what he wanted, without people steering him and telling him where to go and do. Loki nodded to himself, making a silent promise. He would help the man, find the others and get out of this place alive, and then he would… Leave. That's it.

Loki came around a corner and saw something very familiar to him; Thor was fighting, swinging his hammer, smashing and electrocuting people, though it seemed that S.H.I.E.L.D. had realized that he was on their side, because he was fighting alongside them. Loki looked out; trying to spot where Darcy, Selvig and Jane were, but he couldn't spot them anywhere. Loki ran towards Thor, using his magic to get by all the irritating insects firing at him and trying to punch him. Loki just snored and shoved them away, since even though he may not be as strong as Thor he was still considerably stronger than these weaklings of Earth. When he finally reached Thor he had to duck as his brother almost took his head off; that was how emerged he was in the battle, struck first and thought later.

"Where is the others?!" Loki shouted over the general noise of screaming and gunshots that filled up the room.

Thor turned his head to where Loki was and gave him one of his usual cocky and flashy smiles before turning back to fighting the Hydra agents.

"Hello Loki! Where did you run off to? I was getting worried that you might've lost your way!" He said, clearly enjoying swinging his precious hammer again, and since there was almost an infinite amount of Dumbo's trying to take him down he always got to use it.

"Where are the others?!" Loki shouted again, hoping that Thor would hear him between his constant swinging and flinging of his hammer. Thankfully Thor seemed to hear him, because he was now looking at Loki when he spoke.

"They were taken to a secure room by one of these agents of the shield, and they are guarded, so there is nothing to worry about! We only need to defeat these people and we can be on our way back to Asgard!"

Thor said before turning his full attention towards the enemies. Loki looked around a bit; now unsure of what he was going to do, seeing as he still wanted to find the now un-frozen man. He looked around and just caught a glimpse of him going to the next floor, before disappearing.

"I am going after him!" Loki shouted before running off, though he doubted that Thor heard or were even listening, since he now had reverted back to the maniac with the hammer as one of the Hydra agents had called him. Loki ran up and up all the stairs, trying to go the same way up as the un-frozen man, and after a few minutes he found the right path and sprinted up to the second floor.

The same thing escalated on the second floor; various dead bodies lying around the floor with blood pooling out of them, as well as those who were still alive, and those who stood and fought. Loki made his way past them, running through the halls trying to find the one person he cared for.

After running around for a good half hour Loki realized that he must've moved up another floor, and he quickly made his way to the stairs.

Loki reached the stairs and went up. When he got up this time however he wasn't met with another regular floor, but on with no roof, just the sky.

Loki looked around at the mayhem, seeing soldiers fighting, and he had almost given up hope of finding him when he finally saw him hiding behind a plane for shelter. Loki ran towards him, with full intent to not let him slip away this time.

He made his way to him and saw him holding one of the guns that the Hydra soldiers used, and seemed to be engaged in re-loading it.

"Hey!" Loki said, and the man quickly put his gun against him, staring at him.

Loki stopped abruptly and put his hands slightly above his head before speaking.

"Calm down… It's just me, remember? The guy who saved you earlier?"

That seemed to calm him down a bit, and he gave a short grunt before putting the gun back in his lap and continued to re-load it.

Loki sat down beside him, and when he didn't seem to mind Loki relaxed a bit, though being relaxed when people are shooting at you is perhaps not the most logical thing to do.

Loki fidgeted slightly with his hands, not really sure for once what he was supposed to say, seeing as he never really had offered his help to someone, mostly because no one except Thor had wanted it, but also since he didn't really know how to. Loki looked at him; they were right now sitting together, with Loki on the other man's left side, both of them leaning back on the plane.

"So…" Loki began, with a slightly unsure voice and smile which didn't seem to affect the other man since he didn't look up from the weapon he was holding.

"Why is it exactly that you fight?" Loki said, and he didn't actually expect an answer, perhaps a grunt? But to his surprise the other man answered.

"Because they are my enemies." He said, still not looking up.

"And why is that?" Loki said, coming over the small chock of getting an answer and immediately trying to dig up more from the man.

"Because…" He said, and stood up quickly and shot over the side of the plane, most likely hitting a lot of not every target that he aimed at. When he was out of bullets he sat down again and repeated the same thing, but this time he looked at Loki for a brief moment.

"They are my boss's enemies, and I follow order." Loki stared at him for a few moments.

"Why are they your bosses?" He said, still looking at him.

The man sighed and looked at Loki now.

"You ask a lot of questions. What does any of this matter to you?"

Loki met his gaze.

"Because I am trying to help you. Those people that you work for… They manipulated you, erased your memories, look-"

Loki tried to put out his words in a way that would make sense, which proved a very difficult task.

"Manipulated me? What are you talking about?" He said, and he had now put the gun down and stared at Loki.

"When I found you… Down there in the building, there was a man, a scientist that said that you had been another man, before all of this. Do you remember that? You weren't always a killer, you were once a good man, do you recall that?"

The man stared at him wide-eyed now, and Loki could see that there was confusion and fear inside the man's eyes now, and it almost looked like he had a mental war inside his head.

"What, I… I don't…" he said, and dropped his gun and held both of his hands against his head.

"It hurts!" He said, and Loki quickly brought the man's hands down from his face and put his own there instead.

"Look at me." Loki said, and the man looked at him now, his eyes slightly red.

"Good. Now calm down so I can help you, alright?"

He got a silent nod, and the man put his own hands on Loki's arms for support.

Loki closed his eyes and put his forehead against the other man's head, trying to go in and repair the damage that the people of Hydra had done to him. He was shocked and angry when he saw how much damage they had done; they had suppressed and mostly destroyed all of the man's previous memories, and Loki already knew that there were some memories that he would never be able to save. Loki had just began to heal his mind when they were interrupted by a big explosion, and Loki separated the link between them, making sure that he did it safely as to not hurt the other man.

Loki quickly stood up and held his arm out towards the other man who was now lying on the ground with his good arm rubbing his head slightly.

"Thanks…" He grunted as he took the arm and hoisted himself up. When Loki looked out over the giant floor on the Helicarrier he saw a particular person walking towards them, wearing a blue suit and a round shield, which he threw straight at Loki.

He would probably have hit him, if it hadn't been for a metallic arm catching it right in front of him. The man who threw the shield walked closer now, as well as the un-frozen soldier.

When the man in the blue suit saw him he stopped walking and stood completely still, as if Loki had frozen him in his place. The other man with the shield on his left arm walked towards the man and stood now in front of him, both in silence. A silence that was broken by one word;

"Bucky?" The man said, and Loki could see the man's eyes welling up slightly with tears.

The other man cocked his head slightly to his left side in response before answering with a mildly confused voice;

"Who the hell is Bucky?"


	12. Chapter 12 escape and retreat

Loki stood absolutely still as the scene unfolded before him, with the man in the blue suit and the man he had freed staring at each other, unmoved by the chaos that raged around them. Loki stood with his mouth slightly open, partially because he was still in chock from almost getting a shield thrown right at him, but also because he very frightened to interfere with the reunion of the two soldiers.

The man in the blue suit continued to stare down at the un-frozen man he called "Bucky", and Loki could see that his lips were shaking, and his eyes were filled with so many emotions… Sorrow? Quilt? Relief? Confusion? There was so much that was swirling around in those blue eyes that Loki was almost certain that he would drown in them.

This went on for less than a minute, but for Loki it felt like an agonizing eternity to hear the two pick up the conversation again and talk to each other.

"You don't remember me? It's me Bucky! Your best friend! Don't you remember me?!"

The man said, and he took a step forward as he said so, something that didn't go unnoticed by the other, who in response took a step back. This caused the other man to stop and flinch, as if he had been tremendously hurt by the others action.

"Bucky" as the man called him silently shook his head slowly as he kept staring at the other man.

"No… Why? Should I know you?" Bucky said, and the other man simply gaped and looked at him, as if he was falling apart, like a house of cards that had been hit by the lightest breeze, and was now dangerously close to trembling

and falling apart all together.

"Yes… You know me. I am-" The other man held out his hand in an attempt that would look like he was trying to grab Bucky as he spoke, but he stopped and closed his hand that had been opened into a fist, while at the same time closing his mouth into a thin line while looking down at the ground and leaning back. He was silent for a moment, before he drew a shaky breath and looked up at Bucky.

"My name is Steve, Steve Rogers. We've known each other since we were kids Bucky, don't you remember that?"

But Bucky didn't change his face, he didn't suddenly lit up and run to hug the man, he simply stood there and stared at him like he was crazy.

"No I don't. I don't know who you are, and I am definitely certain that I haven't seen you before."

The other man kept looking at him, and just when Bucky was about to turn around he shouted.

"Wait! Look! Look at me now! It's me Bucky, look at my face!" He shouted, and the man quickly took off his helmet that concealed most of his face, previously hiding the short blond hair that now glowed in the sunlight. He tossed the helmet aside and stared at Bucky, who had turned around at the shout and was now standing still. It was now Bucky who was staring intently at the other man named Steve, and his eyes twitched as he stared at him, as if just seeing his face triggered some kind of chain-reaction in his head.

Loki quickly saw that something was wrong with Bucky. It was too much for him to handle, and if he didn't help him he could suffer some serious damage from being overthrown with suppressed memories. Loki caught Bucky just in time as he fell backwards, clutching his head in agony as he moaned from the pain in his head. Steve quickly ran forward, but Loki would have none of that, so he simply held out his hand and created a barrier that the soldier ran into, though he quickly rose to his feet and started to bang on it.

"Let me through! I need to help him, I'm his best friend!"

"**If you are his best friend, then you will stay away so he doesn't die!"**

Loki roared, and the man froze completely, hand still on the barrier as he stared at Loki.

"He can't handle this, do you understand? Seeing you brings up memories, memories that have been suppressed, and now that it's all coming back at once it's killing him."

Steve stared at this strange man who seemed to know a lot about his friend that he didn't know, but at least he seemed to care about him, or else he wouldn't hold him so carefully in his arms.

"If you really are his best friend… Then you will put that mask on and be on your way, otherwise he might lose his mind."

Loki said, and he looked down at Bucky who was opening and closing his eyes, catching glimmers of Steve's face, causing him to remember everything that he had been, but at an alarming rate that he couldn't handle.

Loki quickly took his head in his hands and turned it towards him.

"Hey! Stop looking at him, focus on me instead, nothing else."

Bucky stared at this strange man that looked down at him, and he looked into those evergreen eyes, feeling the pain reside as he lost himself in those beautiful eyes that seemed to pull him in. He smiled a bit goofily when the burning sensation in his head was replaced by a cool touch that made him feel so relaxed, and he let out a breath of relief as the pain disappeared completely before closing his eyes, the image of the man's beautiful face and forest green eyes flashing before his own eyes before he was pulled away from the world of the living and drifted into the world of dreams.

Loki looked down at Bucky who was now asleep; thanks to his soothing touch that cooled down his overheated brain and let the exhausted man rest in peace.

"What did you do?!"

Loki looked up at the noisy man who was staring at him as if he had just cut off Bucky's head.

"I saved him you idiot. No thanks to you, who almost caused him his life."

The other man quickly shut his mouth and took a step back, not breaking his eye contact with Loki, who let out a sigh.

"He is asleep at the moment. I froze down the memory that floods his mind, letting him take it in at a normal pace that won't fry him." Loki said before staring down at Bucky again, brushing a few strands of his hair out of his face as he looked at that tired and weary face.

"So what do we do now?" Steve asked, and Loki looked up at him, seeing that the man had no intention of leaving without Bucky.

"Well-" That was all Loki had to say before another explosion occurred, though this time dangerously close to them, and it should really not have surprised him as much as it did, seeing as it was a miracle that it hadn't hit them sooner considering the circumstances they were in at the given moment. Loki quickly scooped up Bucky in his arms and stood up; only now seeing what terrors surrounded them.

Over their heads were planes flying around, Hydra soldiers jumping down from them and joining in on the fight, or at least those that managed to jump out of their respective plane before it exploded, seeing as the Helicarrier was firing an excessive amount of fire at anything that didn't have their logo on it. The soldier named Steve was now out of sight, and Loki did not plan on sticking around to find him, but instead ran towards the edge of the carrier in an attempt to get away from the crossfire so he could think of something. Loki almost ran over the edge, but stopped just in time to halt his movements. He turned around and tried to get a clear view of the battleground and where he could escape, but as fate would have it on of the Hydra soldiers chose that moment to also look around, and of course he saw Loki with Bucky in his arms. Typical.

The soldier shouted something in a foreign language to the others that Loki didn't understand, but he was pretty damn sure that it didn't mean well for him.

Soon enough there was four more soldiers joining the others, and they were now joining him, walking towards Loki like lions trapping a mama elephant protecting her infant.

"Give him over." One of the soldiers said as he held out his left hand, with his right pointing a gun at Loki while the others loaded their guns and mimicked him.

Loki looked at them and waged his options. He **could** kill those pesky insects, but holding Bucky and conjuring spells would be tricky, especially when he didn't want him shot by those insufferable soldiers.

"You've got nowhere to run boy. Hand him over, **now**."

Loki stared at them for a few minutes, and every time he blinked he saw a familiar scene from his childhood, where the other children bullied him. They did it like they did right now; round him up in a corner and laughed while they beat him up and ran before Thor came and saw them.

Loki could still remember everything, from the laughter that rang in his ears, from the song they sang about how he was a monster, and how much he cried when he lied on the stone streets with his nose and heart bleeding, mixed with the tears that ran from his eyes.

He remembered how he had limped back to the castle, how he had walked up, up all the stairs to talk to his father.

He entered the room and saw how Odin and Thor laughed together, both soaked in dirt and blood. He had walked towards them, and they had told him of the exiting ogre hunt that they had had together. Without him. When Odin had asked about his wounds, saying something in the line of;

"I hope you didn't let yourself get beat up like a weakling." While laughing and being joined by Thor, Loki had almost wanted to cry even more. But he hadn't. Instead he had put on a fake smile and told them a simple lie, and soon enough they walked past him, father and son holding hands and smiling towards each other while Loki looked longingly after them as he stood in the shadows with now even more pain inflicted on him. All those times… He had simply let them have his way and never stood up for himself… He had cried in his room more times than he would like to admit. Loki shifted his gaze from the soldiers to Bucky that was lying in his arms. He looked back up at the soldiers, and by the looks of them they were suddenly frightened, and who could blame them? After all, nothing is more dangerously than to forcefully put someone in a corner with no escape, especially when that someone has something that it will protect at all cost.

The soldiers watched in horror as Loki now flashed the most terrifying grin that they had ever seen, and his eyes glowed dangerously, and had dark circles under them, like his veins had suddenly started to pump out black blood under his skin.

They didn't have time to scream. Loki swung Bucky over his shoulder with his right arm and held out his left arm, and with a twitch of his eye the soldiers stood still, now floating in the air, hovering slightly over the ground.

"You know…" Loki said, and he let out an ice could chuckle as he watched the soldiers squirm under his enchantment that held them in their place.

"It has been a reaaally long day, and to be honest I'm in a kind of hurry, which means that I won't kill you…"

Loki could see the soldier's dilated pupils shift in size, and he let a full blown smile of pure darkness show on his face before he finished his sentence.

"Slowly." With that said, Loki twisted his hand, and in doing so also twisting each and every neck of the soldiers that had tried to trap him and hurt him.

They fell limp to the ground as Loki's spell ceased, and he took a moment to stare at their lifeless bodies wondering what would have happened so many years ago if he had done the same to those godforsaken bullies.

His victory was cut short however, as Loki now saw even more soldier, who probably would shoot him from a longer distance than the others. Loki looked around saw very few options; He could kill the soldiers, but magic isn't an endless source; it takes energy, energy that he doesn't have much more of, and to put the cherry on the top he is carrying a man in his arm. Loki tightened his grip on Bucky and muttered a curse before falling backwards, down the edge and towards the ground far beneath them.

As Loki fell down he managed to turn around, so his back wasn't facing the ground anymore. It was quite thrilling, falling with accelerating speed towards a certain death. It sure as hell did wonders for the heart, unless of course you don't want a heart attack, which now that Loki thought on it seemed like a thing most people would dislike. Loki fell down, and he tried to remember the right spell to speak, but the wind grinding his eyes open and drying them with the constant blow of the air, as well as slapping his skin and screeching in his ears, well… It wasn't exactly easy to concentrate, but since he was by now less than a minute from facing a ground that would (probably) kill him, he felt **really** motivated to think. Loki shut his eyes and chanted the spell that would save them, over and over again, each time getting closer to activating it. Then they hit the ground.

Loki had in the last second turned around again, so his back had hit the dusty ground, with Bucky now lying unconsciously on his chest, still sleeping soundly. Loki groaned loudly as he stood up slowly and began walking; the spell had eased his fall, but it still hurt like a bitch when he walked.

Loki more or less managed to wobble himself back into the city, though he dared not say how long it had actually taken him. When he reached the town he quickly disguised himself and Bucky before entering, giving himself and Bucky normal clothes, as well as shifting Bucky so it looked like he was drunk and that Loki was his good drinking pal that walked him home. He found himself outside a respectable hotel with lots of glimmering stars on the outside, not that Loki had the foggiest idea why they thought it necessary to put them there. Nevertheless he walked, enchanted the person behind the desk and walked up the stairs to their shared room. When he had **finally **walked up all the stairs, laid Bucky gently down on the king-sized bed and made sure the door was locked and sealed he allowed his body to fall back onto the silky sheets and breathe out. Today had been a very long day, and Loki would very much like to sleep, but every bone ached, and his head was swimming with questions, questions like "Where is Thor?" Where are the others?" "Are the Hydra agents after me?"

Those questions kept Loki from sleep, and it wasn't until he heard a soft moan that sort of sounded like a grunt was heard right next to him. Loki turned his head to the side and saw Bucky's eyes slowly open and stare at him. Now, Loki wasn't usually the person that would keep still and stare back, especially when he felt how awkward it felt; honestly. But when moving any muscle in your whole body hurts like a mother-hugger… Well let's just say that Loki didn't give a damn if Bucky thought it was weird, and if he did he was welcomed to get out of the bed. Of which of course he did, quite fast actually, sort of like a cat that suddenly jumped up on all four ten meters up in the air with a screech. It was very much like that. Bucky was now at the floor, breathing heavily and looking around, as if he had been kidnapped and taken far away, which actually now that he read it out loud in his head sounded pretty close what he had actually done he understood why Bucky acted like he was.

"Where am I? Where did you take me? What happened to that man I met earlier?"

Loki groaned as Bucky shouted, feeling a headache sweeping over him. He lifted his hand and swooshed it at Bucky, like he was an annoying fly that bothered him, or like an old lady shooing away a pesky cat. Unfortunately it wasn't enough for Bucky, who had apparently gathered enough courage to climb back up on the bed and was now hovering over Loki who in return squinted his eyes as he looked up at him.

"Tell me." He said, and Loki only groaned and breathed heavily before answering.

"You are in London. We are currently at a "hotel" as they call it… As for the man earlier… I don't know. There was a blast and I lost sight of him. He is probably alright though, seeing as his muscles had muscles…"

Loki closed his eyes and continued to breather, trying to shut out the pain.

It was quiet for a minute, the only sound was their mixed breathing, and Loki didn't bother to stare up at Bucky, who was probably digesting the information.

"… Are you alright?" Bucky asked, Loki's eyes sprung up, now seeing Bucky look at him with something he couldn't put his finger on… Confusion? No, no, not that… Hurt? No… Love? Pshh yeah right… It was like something that was somewhere in between, and for the world Loki couldn't find out what it was, but he felt a little bit warm inside when he looked at him like that.

"What…?" Loki asked, staring up at Bucky who was now looking over his body.

"You're hurt. What happened?" Loki stared at him for a moment, watching him look him over and he felt his hands wander over his body, and to Loki's embarrassment he felt his cheeks heat up at the touch.

"Eerrr… Well… After you fell asleep, or perhaps unconscious, you- I mean I carried you and…"

Loki breathed out and tried to concentrate, but when he looked up he saw Bucky look at him with what Loki could only describe in his head what Darcy called "puppy eyes" and he felt his cheeks redden more if possible.

"You, I mean I, we, we, we fell. From the ship. Down. To the ground."

He said, now looking away and closing his eyes briefly before looking back at Bucky, who was now looking at his own body.

"But if that's true… Why aren't I harmed? I should also be hurt!"

He looked at Loki like he had lied at him, that he was making it all up to confuse him.

"That's because you didn't. **I did**." Loki said and pointed his right thumb towards his chest and gritting as well as showed his teeth to Bucky whose eyes widened in shock.

"You did? Why? Why would you do that for me? I don't even know you!"

Loki grounded and laid his head back onto the bead and covered his face with both his hands.

"I don't know… Morality? Sentimentality? Pick for yourself."

He said, and he assumed that it calmed Bucky down.

"Did I know you? I mean before I was frozen down, did I know you? Were we friends?"

Loki looked at him now, a confused look over his face.

"Shouldn't you know that by yourself? Didn't you get your memories back?"

Bucky bit his lower lip, and Loki prodded himself up with his elbows digging into the mattress as he stared at him intently.

"It did work… sort of. It's still just a bunch of flickering memories, flashing before my eyes now and then." He muttered, and Loki gave a long sigh before shooing him with his hand to get off of him and sit on the bed.

"Alright, let's get this over with…" Loki said, and Bucky's eyes twitched slightly as if he didn't understand a word he said.

Loki looked at him, and he couldn't help the corners of his mouth turning upwards; he looked rather cute, like a child that tried desperately to comprehend something he had no clue what so ever it was.

"Relax Popsicle; I am simply going to… arrange your memories in order to put it simply. Afterwards you will be put to sleep again, and this time you will remember everything from your past life when you wake up. Alright?"

Bucky nodded slowly after a while.

"Good. Then hold still and grab my hand when I place them onto your head."

Loki said, but when he put his hands on Bucky head he flinched, and Loki retreated his hands immediately, looking at Bucky with confused eyes.

"What's wrong?"

Loki said, and Bucky touched his head with his fingertips before grabbing Loki's hands and then looking up at him.

Your hands… They are cold? How can that be?"

Loki looked at him and his eyes darkened slightly, and he felt hurt, as well as vulnerable.

"That's because I'm not like other people you've met. I'm cold, sorry if that's a bother to you." He said, but to his surprise Bucky hands were still on his, as if it didn't bother him at all. Loki looked up surprised now, and Bucky looked at Loki's hands with a very piqued interest before he looked up at Loki again, this time with a small smile.

"I like it. It feels nice." Loki looked at him like he literally couldn't process what he had just said. **Nobody** had ever liked touching him too much, the cold of his body always pushing them away and causing them to partially resent him for it. After he had closed his mouth and re-opened it a few times Loki finally managed to get out one cohesive word to Bucky.

"What?" Bucky still smiled at him before looking down at the two hands he was still holding.

"I have been frozen more than I have not. I have been in such cold places for so long that it doesn't feel cold or bad anymore, in fact;

Bucky held Loki's hands a bit tighter as he looked at him.

"I need it. It feels like I am getting over-heated id I'm not cooled down again when I am away on long missions. It feels like my body is… Burning. And the only thing that can help is the cold. It takes away the pain and soothes me… Just like your hands does right now." Bucky smiled at him, and Loki swallowed thickly as he felt that a clump had formed in his throat, and his eyes had started to swell up slightly, as well as a warm feeling spreading in his lower abdomen.

Well damn. Nobody had ever given Loki a compliment quite like that before, if he ever had gotten one, of which he doubted sincerely.

"Eh… Let's just get this over with, shall we?" Loki said as he hastily freed his hands and put them on Bucky's head while giving him an awkward smile. Bucky smiled a bit and put his own hands on his and gave him a silent nod of approval to proceed.

Loki closed his eyes and brought their head together, getting inside of the man's head and tying together all the memories that flew around like leaves caught in the wind, helplessly floating around randomly with nowhere to go.

It took a long while, but eventually he succeeded in tying them together in the proper order, as well as repairing the severed links between them so they wouldn't be broken. When he was done he let go of Bucky's head, who in return fell limp to his chest, already sleeping. Loki laid him gently down onto the bed and positioned himself next to him, not bothering to move, seeing as he was still sore from that "skydiving" he had done earlier. Loki was now lying still with both of his hands on either side of him, and he allowed himself to close his eyes and started to drift to sleep, but was interrupted by Bucky who grasped his right hand with his own right hand. Loki turned his head to Bucky, but saw to his surprise that he hadn't woken up; He had unconsciously grabbed Loki's hand in his sleep, and judging by the big smile that showed up on his face Loki didn't have the heart to let go, or perhaps it was because it felt really nice.

Loki snapped his fingers and turned the lights out, and before everything went black he looked at Bucky with a smile and a warm feeling in his stomach, that only grew when he saw Bucky smile widely and squeeze his hand as he shifted a little bit closer to him.


	13. Chapter 13 Awkwardness and heartbreak

Loki slowly but steadily peeked his left eye open, blinking a few times to get the sleepiness out. Loki yawned loudly and was mindlessly reaching up his right hand to cover his mouth, but found it stuck. He wiggled his arm slightly, but found that he couldn't move it- Loki was now wide awake and started to look with both eyes, wondering why he couldn't move his arm or the rest of his body, as if he was trapped and-

MY GOD. Loki thought to himself when he saw the reason behind his limited movements. Apparently Bucky had been very eager to get as cold as possible last night, because he was currently hugging Loki like he was his favorite teddy-bear, with Loki tightly pressed against his chest.

Loki's cheeks turned several colors of red, and he tried to get himself out of the hold, squirming twisting in the grip. He managed to get loose, but to his horror this didn't sit well with Bucky, who in turn quickly grabbed him and held him even tighter, sighing softly and burying his head in Loki's shoulder, like an angsty child who was rejoined with its precious blanket.

Loki eeped loudly when he was grabbed and his blush covered his whole face when he was once again pushed against the taller man's chest, with the exception that his head was buried in his neck and that he was now breathing down his back, causing Loki to feel a tingling sensation travel down his spine, among other places he certainly didn't want to talk about. Loki tried his best; really. But Bucky was strong, much stronger than other humans, most likely some enhancement the humans put in him, as Loki faintly remembered Bucky being injected with all kinds of thing in his imprisonment. Loki gave up eventually and stayed still, and to his annoyment he felt Bucky grin on his skin and huff victoriously, as if he had finally caught the thing he had been chasing. Loki sighed again, not even wanting to think how he was going to explain their "situation" when he finally woke up.

When Loki stayed still a silence fell, but it wasn't awkward; it was actually kind of nice. Loki couldn't recall the last time someone had held him so affection ally, not since he was a kid at least and he would sneak into Thor's room when he had a nightmare, and his brother would embrace him and let him sleep with him all night. Loki buried his head in Bucky's chest, suddenly feeling like he might actually need to be hugged, seeing as it might be the last time. Of course Bucky would never do this if he was awake, he only wanted to be cold, and he had unconsciously grabbed the walking refrigerator when he slept. Loki sighed and breathed in the scent of Bucky, his nostrils filling with a scent mixed of dried sweat, metal and something Loki couldn't pinpoint. He stayed still like that for a few minutes, reminiscing his past and enjoying the fleeting moment for a long as he could before the other man would wake up and push him off the bed our throw him out of the window.

Loki's eyes sprang open when he felt the other man starting to move, and in his panicked state he did something he in retrospect probably would call one of his less bright moments. Loki quickly babbled a "push" spell that sent him and Bucky flying towards each respective wall, both men's backs crashing with the wall. Bucky flew up quickly and looked around like he was under a massive attack, which Loki couldn't blame him for. When he saw Loki he quickly strode over and hoisted him up, eying him up and down before speaking.

"What the hell was that?" he asked, and Loki opened and closed his mouth and opened it a few times before collecting himself and answering.

"I… Don't know, perhaps I cast a spell by mistake, I do that sometimes when I sleep." Loki said and rubbed his head with his hand slightly and laughing a bit, praying that Bucky believed what he said was true. When Bucky stared at him for another moment before turning around and walking to the bathroom Loki took it as a sign that he had believed him. Loki let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and sat down on the bed and rubbed his back slightly. He heard Bucky turn on the shower, and he started to wonder how he could do that with the metal arm, but stopped abruptly thinking about it when the thought of the other man naked entered his mind. Loki quickly covered his face with his hands to hide his blush, and he groaned loudly.

Why was he even thinking like that? Bucky had his memories back now, and he needed to find Thor and the others to make sure they were safe, before finally leaving them and continuing his quest to find a place where he belonged.

"Are you alright?" Loki's head rose from his palms, and when he looked at Bucky he almost choked; the man was currently only wrapped in a white towel hanging loosely at his hip, with water running over his muscular chest and steam emitting from his body. His hair was wet and pulled back, and was giving of a certain glow when the light reflected in it. Loki sure as hell didn't know why he was suddenly feeling this way; he had never had a girlfriend, but that was because nobody liked him. Was that it? Not having anybody show any interest in him and waking up one morning with someone hugging him caused him to long for men? No… It was more than that, it wasn't about if the person he found himself fancy was a guy or girl, it was about the connection he felt towards the person; Bucky had also started out as Loki, a good person, but was sidetracked, in his case the abduction by Hydra and in Loki's case his adoptive fathers poor parenting skills, the whole of Asgards hate weighing down on his shoulders, accompanied with his father's superior love and connection towards his brother.

Not only that, Bucky was the first person who really didn't seem to care about his cold exterior, finding it more fascinating than distasteful. Loki had never met someone like that, who could make him feel all giddy and warm inside and it pained him when he realized they would soon go separate ways. When Loki snapped out of his thoughts he realized Bucky was still standing there, and he quickly spoke up.

"Huh? Oh! Yes, yes I am fine, just… Just a bit worried that's all." Loki said, and Bucky looked at him slightly confused.

"About what?" he asked, turned around and threw away his towel, reaching for his discarded clothes. Loki turned his head away quicker than lightning when Bucky bent over, holding up a hand to shield the view.

"W-well, I don't know where my brother is, or if he and the others are safe, so I need to go and find them, but I don't know where to look."

Loki waited for Bucky to answer, but only heard the sound of the other man putting on clothes. He felt a weight settle on the bed, and Loki really hoped he had put all of his clothes on when he looked towards Bucky. When he saw him he was lying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling silently. Loki looked at him silently, just now remembering that the man had all his memories back, and was probably deeply entwined in his own thoughts.

"How are you feeling?" Loki asked, not really used to comfort someone, but he had been hurt and confused a lot of times, and he knew somewhat what Bucky felt at the moment. Bucky didn't answer for a long moment, and Loki almost thought he hadn't heard him or didn't want to talk, before he exhaled loudly and spoke.

"I feel… Confused, more than ever. Before I had a purpose, even though it was wretched. Now I feel… hollow. I don't have anything, not even a purpose. What am I supposed to do?"

Loki bit the inside of his cheek and looked at Bucky with a pained look.

"That is up to you, but don't throw your life away; I didn't break my back so I could hear you whine." Loki said, and he could see the smile that showed on Bucky's face.

"Yeah… Sorry about that. I'm really grateful that you saved me, but I'm just not sure what I should do, that's all…" Bucky said, and he had his left arm lying on his chest scratching him and resting his head on his metallic arm.

"What about the man on the ship? You knew him, didn't you? Before all this I mean." Loki said, and he saw that he had struck a nerve when Bucky tensed up.

"Are you going to find him? He looked worried about you, and he is probably searching for you…" Loki said, but with slight caution in his voice as to not anger Bucky further.

Bucky stared up at the ceiling before he huffed.

"I'd rather not meet him. There is too much blood on my hands… I don't want him to see me like this."

Loki looked at him, and he could see the doubt in his eyes.

"You have to at least see him. You owe him that." Loki said, and Bucky sat up and stared at him with an annoyed look, but Loki didn't waver, he met the gaze and bore his eyes into the others.

"Why? What good would it do? And why do you care what I do?" He asked before staring at the wall. Loki stared at him, now with anger in his voice;

"I care because I know what it feels like when someone doesn't want to tell you things, and how hurtful it is to not know what is wrong. That man is probably worried sick about you, and you are just going to leave him?" Bucky didn't look at him, and Loki stood up abruptly and looked away.

"I'm going to find my brother. Feel free to come with if you want to find your old friend, or stay here and sulk. It's up to you now after all."

Loki stormed out of the room, angry but at the same time feeling uneasy, because he would soon be faced with the same situation, regarding the matter of talking to Thor or simply fleeing. Loki held his head high and stormed out of the building, intending to find his clumsy brother and finally be off.

He had only walked a few blocks before he stopped abruptly, seeing as a man fell down in front of him; it was Bucky, who seemed to have jumped out of the window.

Loki stared at Bucky wide-eyed, seeing shattered glass all over the street and hearing shouts from pedestrians.

Bucky slowly rose and eyed him from down to up before huffing out his sentence;

"Fine. I will accompany you, but I will only stop by so he won't follow me, nothing more, got it?"

Loki looked at him with a surprised look and open mouth that soon turned it a smirk.

"But of course." Loki said, and the two of them quickly walked down the pavement, heading for the building that Loki had infiltrated yesterday, hoping he could find clues there as to where his brother was, assuming that Hydra hadn't overrun it over the night. They arrived at the foot of the building within an hour, and Loki could see the mayhem that had occurred they day before; there was blood spilled all around, accompanied with shattered glass and some libs that hadn't yet been disposed of. Loki gave himself and Bucky the same clothes he had worn yesterday, but leaved the face as it was, seeing as he didn't know if Anthony had been killed when he had come to his senses and ran back. Either way Loki didn't really care at the moment, and most people were so busy to clean up that they didn't even see them. Loki managed to find the head of security soon enough, and he wasted no time on chit-chat and placed his left palm onto the man's head.

He searched the man's mind, and found a received message that he had received yesterday, telling him that they had everything under control, as well as a few new guests that would remain on the Helicarrier, but needed a plane to fly them home. And it was supposed to be delivered in half an hour!

Loki quickly let go of the man and turned towards Bucky who seemed a bit scared at his sudden movements and panicked face.

"We have to go, now!" Loki shouted and ran towards the basement, remembering seeing planes standing in the hangar.

Loki and Bucky ran down the stairs and towards the elevator. Loki quickly took out his screwdriver and hacked the system, effectively opening the doors and walking in.

The two of them stood at the moment in the elevator, catching their breath.

"What's going on?" Bucky asked, turning towards Loki and looking at him as if they ran from a terrible beast.

"They are still on the Helicarrier, and the plane that is supposed to fly to it leaves in…" Loki quickly looked around, seeing a small digital display on the elevator shaft displaying the time.

"Ten minutes. If we don't catch that flight we will have no way of reaching the Helicarrier, since all other planes were destroyed yesterday." Loki said, breathing heavily and staring at Bucky who after a while nodded.

"Then let's make sure that we don't miss it." He said right as the doors of the elevator opened. The two of the quickly ran out and through the science hall, not paying attention to the confused looks the scientists who helplessly tried to put together their shattered gadgets. When they reached the end of the hall they turned to their right and saw the hangar, the one plane still intact being loaded with various supplies, as well as soldiers boarding it. They looked at each other briefly before walking towards the plane, now in a more easy-going matter, so they wouldn't draw any more attention to themselves, something they had failed miserably at judging by the curious looks the scientist gave them. They arrived at the entrance of the plane, being stopped with a man holding a sheet of paper, the very same man that had inspected Loki yesterday when he had snuck aboard one of the trucks.

"And who are you two supposed to be? This plane leaves in an hour, and I have already checked off everybody who is supposed to be on the plane…"

The man said, and Loki could see the same glint and hint of suspicion trailing in his eyes as he looked at them. Loki looked at Bucky briefly before grabbing his shirt from behind and looked back at the man who now had a complexed stare fixed on him, with one of his eyebrows raised.

"That's because we just got here. I am supposed to deliver this man to the Helicarrier for questioning; He is a Hydra soldier." Loki said, and when the man looked at both of them he quickly put his left hand on the man's head and ruffled his hair, smiling as he did so.

"Alright? No worries, I've got this under control sir." Loki said, and unknown to the others who looked at them with funny gazes he was currently manipulating the man into doing what he wanted. When he removed his hand the man adjusted his glasses and huffed, but nodded and held out his arm towards the entrance, signaling to them that it was alright to go aboard. Loki gave Bucky a smirk, but it was gone a moment later when he turned forward and walked up the platform, Bucky still a bit confused about the sudden turn of events. They sat down and watched as the doors closed, the last thing they saw was the man scratching his head in confusion as he walked away, and Loki couldn't help but snicker a bit. Bucky turned his head to the side slightly and whispered to Loki;

"What did you do?" Loki's head turned slowly to the side as had just faintly heard Bucky talk to him.

"Hmm?" He hummed quietly, trying not to let on that he was talking to Bucky in front of the other people on the plane.

"What did you do to him?" Bucky asked, turning his head away after repeating his words.

"I just clouded his judgment a little, no biggie." Loki said, and it seemed to be enough of an explanation to Bucky who now sat quietly and looked around the room they were in.

They sat silently on the plane, hearing it leave the hangar and fly up. There were five other people on the plane as well, not counting the pilots. The inside was filled with boxes and equipment, most likely to be used for repairing things on the Helicarrier that had received massive damage the day before.

They all sat in silence, and just now Loki realized how close in fact he was to meeting his brother, and also saying goodbye, seeing as Thor had his hammer now, which meant that his banishment was over. Loki swallowed hard as he thought of what could happen, especially since he couldn't back out of telling him, not when he had told Bucky to do the same thing. Loki nervously fiddled with the hem of his shirt, suddenly feeling very sick and nervous of the impending future meeting with his brother.

Soon enough the ship came to a stop, and the doors opened, letting in a bit if sunlight and the wind blowing steadily into the room. The other men quickly jumped up on their feet and started to load the cargo off the ship, but Loki just got up and dragged Bucky out of the plane, walking with steady steps, telling anyone that might look at him that he had a job to do, and that he would not kindly respond to interference.

They walked towards one of the doors and went in, silently walking through the corridors, passing different rooms filled with earthly technology on the way.

Eventually they found an open room that had a small platform of which they were currently standing on. There was an open view of a hanger at the end of the platform, with a railing to hold onto, and a round table in the middle with chairs.

At the table sat various people, some of who Loki had spotted yesterday; it was the woman with red hair, the man who had worn iron wings, the man with the eye-patch, a man who Loki did not recognize with glasses and a purple shirt, and… Thor. Loki swallowed thickly but smiled at the same time as he saw his brother's happy expression as he laid eyes on him.

"Loki!" He shouted happily and rose up from his seat, sending the chair away in the progress as he quickly strode over to where Loki was and embraced him with a bear-hug.

"I'm so happy to see you brother!" Thor exclaimed and let Loki out of the hug as he still had both of his hands resting on Loki's shoulders.

"You don't say…" Loki said, trying his best to re-fill his lungs with the air that Thor had successfully squeezed out of him with his hug.

The other people stared at them with somewhat amusement, though the moment they laid eyes on Bucky all of them got on their feet, drawing their respective choice of weapon.

"Thor, get away from him, he's a Hydra soldier!" The woman said, and Thor looked at her with a confused look, before turning back and staring at Bucky who stood next to Loki, now with a more serious look, as her reached his hammer with his hand. Loki quickly put his right hand on Thor's chest and looked him in the eye, leading his gaze from Bucky to him.

"Stop Thor, he's with me, and he is no threat to any of you, right Bucky?" Loki said, looking at Bucky briefly who nodded to him.

"Why should we trust you?" the man with the eye-patch said, who was still pointing his gun at Bucky's head.

"Because if my brother says he is no danger to you then so it is." Thor said, and he had now retreated the hand grabbing for his hammer and turned around to look at the others, who looked at each other before receiving a nod from the man with the eye-patch, and only then did they put back their weapons.

"Are the others safe?" Loki asked, and Thor turned around and gave him a smile and a nod.

"Yes they are. They are currently on board this ship, and I was currently talking with earths warriors in this room about finding you." Thor said, and Loki nodded, somewhat relieved that the others were out of harm's way and well.

"Where is Steve Rogers?" Loki and all the other people turned to Bucky, who now had a bit of a sour face, staring at the man standing right across him, namely the man with the eye-patch.

"Did someone call for me?" Bucky's head snapped up at the voice, and he quickly walked forwards to the railing, seeing Steve standing at the bottom of the hangar looking up at them. When Steve saw him he went silent, as did Bucky, before shooting Loki a glare and jumping down. He landed with a loud resonating sound on the floor, with Steve a few meters away from him.

They eyed one another, standing still as the rest including Loki looked over the railing standing in silence and waiting breathlessly to see what would happen between the two of them.

Steve swallowed thickly.

"Do you… remember who I am?" He said, and he looked up to Loki, who gave him a silent nod. He looked back at Bucky, who still hadn't said a word, but nodded slowly.

"Yes… I do now." He said, but he didn't smile, unlike Steve who seemed happier than ever.

"That's great! If you remember everything you can tell S.H.I.E.L.D. and you can come-"

"No."

Steve's smile disappeared, and his eyes who previously shined with happiness was now clouded with confusion.

"What?" He said, laughing a bit as if it was a joke, but Bucky didn't laugh. He just stared at Steve.

"I said no." Steve's mouth was now closed, and he looked at Bucky, wanting to hear an explanation. Bucky drew in a breath and turned his gaze downwards as he gnawed on his lower lip, before looking up at Steve again.

"Listen Steve…" Bucky said, and Loki could already see the scared look on the soldiers eyes as he stood motionless.

"The Bucky you knew… The person who you had sleepovers with, who supported you and stood by you while others laughed at you… That person is dead. He died a long time ago."

Steve looked at Bucky who seemed to have a very hard time to put together the words he spoke.

"And I would rather have you remember me as the person I was, rather than this…" Bucky motioned at himself; the spell had worn off, and you could now see the dark clothing with the weapons attached to it, as well as his robot arm.

Bucky looked at Steve again, and he had a clump forming in his throat.

"I shouldn't have met you yesterday, or here. It would have just been better if you thought I was dead, rather than seeing me like… This." Bucky said, and Steve clenched his fists."

"Don't you ever say that." Steve said, shaking his head as he stared at Bucky.

"Please Bucky, we can help you! You only have to let us!" Steve shouted, but Bucky didn't respond. He just stared at Steve, then he turned his head slightly and looked at the others staring down at them before looking back at Steve.

"Steve… What is the first thing you remembered after waking up?"

The question threw Steve a bit off balance, but he gathered himself and responded.

"After I woke up… I was lying in a bed, and when I ran out the world had changed, and I was scared just like you must've been when you woke up, but then I found people who could help me, and I am better for doing so!"

Steve said, and Bucky turned his gaze down and stared at the floor.

"Steve… I have no doubt that you were taken good care of when you woke up, but me? Heh… The first thing I remember…"

Bucky looked up at Steve, and his eyes were slightly red now, the small smile that had occurred when he had chuckled was long gone,.

"Was searing pain, coursing through my body, people sticking needles in me, all while I screamed. They gave me daily doses of electricity, they… they broke me Steve." Bucky looked at Steve, who also had red eyes now.

"They tore me apart, day by day, and piece by piece they tore me down until nothing remained of me. They took away everything I was… My name, my memories… My life, everything that made me who I was back then."

Bucky paused and swallowed hard before continuing, and Loki could feel his own throat swelling up with emotions.

"Then they made into this-"he gestured himself, holding out his mechanic arm.

"A killer. And even now, all I can recall are broken memories and blood, so much blood on my hands. I can't remember the times we spent together Steve, just… Killing, over and over again, always killing, never stopping, even when they begged me to." Bucky looked at Steve with teary eyes, and his lips trembled.

I-I can't pick up the broken pieces of my old life, I just… Cant. I'm not the friend or soldier you remember, and I can't be anything other than what I am now, not after what I've done, and no matter what I do I can't repair the damage I did, I will always remember, always remember everything I did back then, all those people, their screams… I will never forget what I have done and that I can't undo it. "

Steve looked at his friend, his best friend, the person who had always been with him, always believed in him and helped him. He felt a warm tear run down his right cheek, and he swallowed down the bitter taste in his throat before speaking.

"Bucky… Please… You are my best friend, and you are one of the few things I still have from my old life before I froze… Please… Don't go. Don't leave me."

Bucky kept his gaze locked at Steve, but to the others it was clear that he too was deeply moved by the words, as he was shaking slightly.

"We both started out the same Steve, didn't we? We grew up together, we fought on the good side together, we both froze… But I wasn't as fortunate as you. Do you remember what my mom used to tell us? That everybody is born as an angel? Well I got my wings clipped-"Bucky looked at his metallic arm, which at the moment looked like a dead limb hanging loosely on his shoulder.

"And now I can't fly anymore. It doesn't matter what you say, because my purpose, my only reason to exist in this world any longer was to kill. It's all I know now. I have nothing else, no family, no fond memories… Nothing. I'm just a broken shallow shadow of the man you once knew, a ghost that hasn't passed on yet. The only thing I know for certain is that I will never be the man I once was, so don't try to fix me, because I am done letting people tell me what to do, order me around, telling me what I do is "justified" and "for the better good".

Bucky stood silent now, and the tension in the room was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. Steve stared at Bucky, at a loss of words to say to reach his friend.

"Bucky… Why can't you just see it? You aren't a murderer, those people are! They made you do all that, but it's over now! You can come back, start a new life! I'm here for you Bucky… Until the end of the line, so please… can't we start over?"

Steve looked at Bucky and walked a few steps forwards, holding out his hand to Bucky. Loki tried his best to hold his emotions in check, but he had an awful gut-wrenching feeling in his stomach, and he just knew that he would soon be the one in Bucky shoes, with Thor trying to convince him to come back, not knowing why he couldn't.

Bucky stared at the out-stretched hand, and slowly but steadily he reached out his right hand to grab it, but just when he was about to take hold of Steve's hand he stopped and closed his hand and closed his eyes as a single tear leaped out and slowly retreated his hand, watching as Steve's eyes were filled with panic and sadness.

"I'm sorry Steve…" Bucky said, and let the arm fall back against his side.

"Please Bucky I can help you… we can go back…" Steve said with a pleading voice as he stared at Bucky who now had turned halfway away from him. Bucky turned his head back and breathed in before speaking softly.

"No Steve… We can't."


	14. Chapter 14 Chaos and mistakes

The railing Loki had held onto during the conversation between Steve and Bucky was now squished, his handprint imprinted on it as he had held it so tight that the metal had given up and buckled under the tension. Loki staggered back a bit, feeling an odd sickness in his stomach as well as the overbearing sadness from the heart-tearing speech Bucky had given. But the thing that struck him most was the look in Steve's eyes that empty looks of sadness and diminished hope as he watched Bucky walk away from him, and Loki wondered if that was what Thor would look like when he would tell him the truth and leave him. Or maybe… That was what he would look like. His brother walking away from him in disgust, sickened by the thought of having a monster for a brother, or adopted in this case. Loki walked backwards, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from Steve, needing to see what the soldier would do. He was not prepared for what came next.

Steve looked down at the floor, his fists clenched in fury. After a little while he looked up and stared **straight** at Loki, who suddenly felt like a deer caught in the headlights.

"You!" Steve shouted and pointed his finger at Loki while walking towards him, his steps increasing in speed as he walked forward.

"Me?" Loki asked, almost squeaking when the mountain of muscles strode towards him from down below, and Loki knew that it wasn't a good when someone made a face like that, which at the moment looked like something close to a maniac.

"You did this!" Steve shouted, and Loki's eyebrows frowned in response, and all his brain could produce at the moment was one coherent word;

"Huh?" Loki stood dumbstruck still for a moment, not really understanding what the soldier below was talking about.

"You did something to him, didn't you! I saw you yesterday, you messed up his memories!"

Loki didn't think his eyebrows could travel any further up on his forehead, but the soldiers ridiculous and preposterous statement proved him wrong, and even Bucky had stopped in his tracks to stare at Steve who looked majorly pissed off.

Steve was still staring at Loki, his teeth showing, like a dog growling.

Thor turned around and stared at Loki with a slightly worried look.

"Is this true brother?" He asked, and Loki cold only stare at him with a gaping mouth before retorting with an annoyed tone;

"Of course not! That's ridiculous!" Thor looked at him for a short time before nodding solemnly, but that didn't seem to convince the soldier that he was telling the truth about the matter.

"Of course he would say that! We don't even know anything about him or his brother, for all we know he could have brainwashed Bucky!"

Steve breathed harshly, and Bucky was now staring at him with eyes pressed together and his mouth closed in a way that most people would describe as someone pitying one another.

"Leave him out of this." Bucky said, and Steve's gaze on Loki finally broke as his head snapped to Bucky, who was still staring at him, slightly annoyed with Steve's outburst. Steve stared at Bucky for a moment before calming down a bit, and then he spoke in a slightly less threatening tone, but Loki could tell that he was still majorly pissed off at him.

"I'm going to take you to Dr. Strange… And he is going to fix whatever damage Hydra and this man has done to you." Steve said, and by the look on Bucky's face it was easy to tell that he was not pleased by the decision Steve had made for him.

"I don't want help…" He gritted out between his teeth, and both of his fists were clenched, and he was now facing Steve from across the room.

"That's just the manipulation, its making you do and say things you don't want Bucky… I know that you are still in there, and I am going to make sure that you are healed properly…" Steve said as he walked forward

"Why aren't you listening! " Bucky roared, and Loki could feel the tension between the two seep into his very bones, the dreading feeling of experiencing something similar with his brother making his stomach turn inside out.

"Because I have heard enough. I'm taking you with me whether you like it or not." Steve answered as he walked forward, and though the other people in the room seemed to be in doubt, they made no movement or statement to stop the lunatic soldier. That is until the wall behind Steve was torn open, and a man with a cape and a helmet floating through it.

Everyone stared at the man who seemed to be floating on a metal plate, and even Steve had turned around to stare in confusion. The man in question seemed to be really old, but that hadn't stopped him from removing the entire wall, as well as transporting a hoard of people who were currently streaming into the Helicarrier. When they were all inside the man on the metal plate spoke up, and Loki could already tell that he meant trouble, judging by the scared expressions the others currently wore, as well as the fact that they were reaching for their respective weapon of choice.

"Greetings fellow mutants and… Inferior beings…" The man said, and Loki could see that he was staring at the man with the eye patch and the woman with red hair before turning his gaze towards his brother and then him. There seemed to be a slight glint in his eyes when his eyes wandered over them, and his mouth turned upward in a mocking smile.

"Do not fear, we mean you no harm. Just hand over the Tesseract and we will be on our way." There was an amused smile on the man's face, and while Loki at first wanted to laugh at him for not knowing that it was back at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, the look on the man's face with the eye patch told him that it might not be true. Had they seriously brought it with them on the plane?

The man hovered in silence, and the man with the eye patch walked forward to the railing while gathering himself.

"How do you know about the Tesseract, and why would you think we have it here?" The man said, and the older man scoffed and smiled a little bit while hovering a bit closer, all the while the other people around Loki seemed to prepare for the worst to happen any second.

"I know you have it, and I should also let you know that stalling won't do you any good. If you won't tell me where it is…" The man's smile dropped, and his right hand rose from behind him, and as if he was crushing a paper he clenched his hand, which simultaneously caused the walls to tear, the floor to shake and the Helicarrier to rumble.

"I will simply have to tear this whole ship apart until I find it, and trust me… it won't take long to erase the floor you are standing on, so I suggest for your crewmen's safety that you tell me before I start looking myself."

"Who are you?!" Thor roared, and the man ceased to tear the ship and turned his attention towards him, and a dangerous smile played over his face.

"But of course! Where are my manners? My name is Eric, though many call me Magneto by these days. I have a simple goal… To eradicate all those who oppose me and my cause, mutants and humans alike."

"You aren't human?" Thor asked, and Magneto raised his eyebrows, as if the question could have been asked by a 4 year old.

"No. I am a mutant, a new step in the evolution of mankind. My people are being discriminated by the humans who fear us, and so I have taken it upon myself to cleanse the earth of all humans, so that we mutants can live in peace. I have seen many mutants, but you and your associate over there are new to me. Tell me… Are you also mutants?"

Thor stared back at Magneto defiantly, and he smirked a bit before unholstering Mjölnir from his waist.

"I am not from this world, and neither is my brother. We come from Asgard, and we will protect these humans from you." Thor said, and by the surprised look and Magnetos face Loki almost giggled by how baffled he looked.

"Thor… And Loki?" Magneto said, and he was currently fixating his gaze on the two, or to be precise Thor's hammer, and the small smile seemed to be his way of acknowledging the statement.

"Intriguing… and why are you defending the humans if I might ask? Why bother saving the weak when it's the stronger that will prevail?"

"Because it's the right thing to do." Thor said, and he was already getting a firm grip on Mjölnir, and Loki could see how everyone got ready to fight.

"Stop right there bub!"

Loki whipped his head and body around; with an expression that was something in the style of "really?" It was now more people streaming in from the other side of the room, a man with metal claws growing out of his knuckles, a woman with blond hair, a man with odd glasses and a bunch of other people behind him, all sporting black costumes with an "X" symbol on them.

"Wolverine! What a pleasant surprise seeing you here! Now if you would just be so kind to wait a moment while I retrieve the Tesseract, I promise you that I will destroy you, just wait your turn." Magneto said in a mocking tone, and the man called "wolverine" growled at the remark, very similar to a dog actually.

"Save it tin-head, the professor has sent us here to make sure that you don't get the Tesseract, and we sure as hell aren't going to wait just so you can play around with these kids!"

"Excuse me?!" The man with the eye patch shouted as he looked at Wolverine. Who the hell do you think you are, and why are you on my ship?!"

The woman with white hair stepped forward and shoved Wolverine away, who seemed close to jumping onto the man with the eye patch.

"We mean no harm to you Fury. We are simply here to stop Magneto. Our leader, Charles Xavier located the Tesseract on this ship, as well as Magnetos men. We are here to help."

The speech seemed to have calmed Fury down, though he still stared at her with a suspicious eye before turning back to Magneto.

"Alright then-"Fury didn't have any more time to say anything before the right wall of the carrier blew open, with a giant orange rock-looking man jumping through, followed by a man on fire, a woman and a man in blue costumes. At this point Loki didn't think it could get any more ridiculous.

But it did.

Because suddenly the **left** wall smashed open, this time revealing two men, one with a green coat and a metal mask, and the other one had a skull mask and a white cape. Loki didn't even know what to say anymore.

"We heard your call Nick!" The man in blue shouted, and Loki half expected the floor to drop down any moment right now.

"Richard! Magneto is after the Tesseract, we have to stop him from stealing it!"

Fury shouted, but the man in the green coat and hood interrupted the

conversation from carrying on any further.

"Actually… I'll be taking the Tesseract if you don't mind." The man said, and

the man with a white cape drew his sword.

"Doom!" the man called Richard shouted, and Doom turned his attention

towards him.

"Why are you doing this?! And why is Taskmaster with you?!"

"Simple Reed… The Tesseract is worth a fortune, which just so happens to be

what Doom is paying me." Taskmaster said, and Loki knew that any moment

now something was going to happen. Like for example the door opening right

below where they were standing, which at the moment was right in the middle

of the gigantic hangar, with the mutants ahead, the four uncanny people on the

left, the two men in cloaks on the right and the avengers plus Thor and Loki

behind. It was the man from yesterday, the son of Coul.

"Nick, I just picked it up from the ship, where do you want me to put the Tessera- oh."

The son of Coul was currently standing right in the middle of everything, the briefcase with the Tesseract in his right hand. At first it was silent. Then all hell broke loose. The mutants marched towards the son of Coul, while the Avengers and "X" people threw themselves over the railing and into the fight, as well as everybody else. There was metal flying around, fire burning everywhere and ice covering the walls… It was absolute chaos, and Loki didn't know what to do. He turned to Thor, but that oaf had already taken his chance to participate, and was currently taking a swing at a man with a ridiculous red suit who also shouted that he was the "Juggernaut" or something. Loki couldn't have cared less, but at the moment he was sort of torn between what he should do; should he simply join the fight? No, that would be too risky, especially since he couldn't really tell apart who was who with all the beams, shields, shots and various other things flying around at the same time. He had to find Jane and the others and bring them away from the carrier to safety. Loki ran back the way he came, not bothering to ask anyone where exactly they had put them, seeing as everyone was either shooting, running or screaming, sometimes all together. Loki sighed as he ran through the corridor's, looking into each room to find them so he could get the hell out of there. This wasn't exactly what he had had in mind when he left, and now he was seriously wondering how it would all end. Would he even manage to get through this day? Would he die, all alone, never knowing true freedoms taste? No. Loki gritted his teeth and sped up his pace as he tore open all doors in his search.

He would get out of this, and he will definitely be free from everything that holds him back. Even his brother if it would come to that.

Eventually Loki found them, or rather ran in to them quite literally to be honest. They looked fine, save for their terrified and worried expressions, which really was no surprise considering the circumstances.

"Loki!" Darcy shouted after bouncing back from the floor, and proceeded to hug Loki, squirmed in the tight grip.

"No, I- I am not a hugging person! You can stop hugging me!" Loki shouted with a tomato-look-alike face, and while Darcy still had her big smile the same could not be said about Jane or Selvig.

"Loki what's happening? And where is Thor?"

Of course she would ask about his brother, god forbid her asking if he was

alright.

"Thor is fine, or at least I think so, but we don't have time to chat. The

Helicarrier has been invaded by a hoard of villains and "mutants", and we really

Need to-"

"Mutants?!" Selvig suddenly shouted and stared at Loki in awestruck.

Loki gritted his teeth, hating when people interrupted him.

"Yes, mutants, now if you would be so kind to-"

"Incredible! I have to see this!" Selvig said, and he seemed to have completely

Forgotten about the chaotic things that were taking place currently and was

almost about to walk past Loki to get to the action. Almost. Emphasize on the

almost. Loki quickly grabbed the man's jacket and looked him straight in his

eyes while hissing out his next sentence;

"I don't know if you have noticed what is happening at the moment, or what I

just said half a minute ago, but we are currently under attack. If you go to "see

the mutants", as you described it, I can guarantee you that you won't come back

alive, which means you have two options; either walk right into the crossfire and

die a horrible death, or follow me to safety, which only ups you chances of

survival with a few measly percent's, which begs the question; what do you

think is the smartest course of action?"

Loki finished his speech by letting go of Selvig's shirt, and by that telling him

that he could do what he wanted without Loki stopping him. Selvig wasn't as

excited as before, and he gave Loki a small shameful nod before turning around

and starting to walk, accompanied soon by Darcy, Jane and Loki who rolled his

eyes at the old man's stupidity. They ran together through the hallways, people

with guns passing by now and then, until they came to a locked door. Of course

it wasn't any obstacle that Loki couldn't handle, who simply whipped out his

sonic screwdriver and unlocked it. When they walked through the door their

eyes were met with fresh sunlight, as well as many people fighting each

other.

"Well shit…" Loki murmured to himself as he quickly motioned for the others

to stay alongside the walls of the Helicarrier and as far away from the fight as

possible. They half-ran alongside the wall, all while the fight erupted into more

and more chaos, which seemed to be something Selvig enjoyed, judging by his

smiling face as he watched the man on fire soar through the sky. Loki kept

pushing them forward, very much like a mom trying to shove her kid out of toy

store. Eventually they reached the edge of the wall they had ran alongside, and

there was a big ship ahead, most likely the one the "X" men had used, since their

initial was on it.

"Can any of you fly that thing?" Loki asked, and the others turned and looked at

each other before Jane cleared her throat a bit.

"I… I think I can, I mean I haven't really flied one before, but I'm sure that it's

not that hard, right?"

By the looks on the others faces Jane concluded that it probably wasn't.

"Yeah, sure Jane, no problem! I have played GTA a lot, so I definitely know

how to fly one, I mean it's definitely not like you need years of experience or

anything, right?" Darcy said, and by the look Jane shot her Loki could tell that

she was not amused.

The company had only managed to take one step before metal spikes erupted

from the floor all around them and just by their luck Magneto came hovering

down in front of them, his lackeys right behind him.

"Leaving so soon? We were just getting started!" Magneto exclaimed with an

amused smile, like a kid who were playing with an ant running across the yard,

blocking its path for fun.

"What do you want from us?!" Loki roared, sweat showing on his forehead and

the stress quickly building up inside of him.

Magneto only gave a small scoff of laughter before answering.

"Don't pretend you don't know… One of my subordinates sensed the Tesseracts

presence, or to be exact in you left pocket, so I suggest you hand it over before I

impale all of you."

"The Tesseract? What are you talking about we don't have it! Right Loki?

Loki?"

Loki was very still, just remembering that it was true; he had the Tesseract, or at

least a piece of it, and now he had doomed them by using for such a simple task

as opening a door. He had been a fool. And now everyone else would suffer.

Loki shuffled a bit, not sure what to do, seeing as Magneto would hardly be

interested in the small piece he had chipped of the old block, but he could still

save the others by using his brain.

"If I give you the Tesseract you have to let the others go, alright? Let them go,

and I will give you the Tesseract."

Magneto stared silently at Loki for a moment before waving his right hand in a

dismissing manner, the spikes next to Jane disappearing, but other rising along

the ground, leading to the plane. Jane and the others looked around nervously

before walking away from Loki, and he only got one look of worry from them,

until they turned their heads forward and continued to walk towards the plane

ahead. After they had got on the plane and lifted (Loki could spot an "X" pilot in

the front seat of the plane) Magneto turned towards Loki, who had a serious

exterior while he was almost panicking inside, trying to remember a spell that he

could use against the mad man.

"Well…?" Magneto asked, and he had now come down to the ground, and he

was currently standing right in front of Loki, his right hand extended to grab the

Tesseract Loki didn't have. Loki looked at Magneto and his fellow henchmen

who seemed rather eager to attack him the second he handed over the Tesseract.

Too bad he wasn't planning on doing that.

"Sure." Loki said with a brilliant smile, and with that he quickly seized Magnetos

hand with his own, all while mumbling the only spell he could think of at the

moment. Magnetos eyes went wide and his knees buckled as he tried to force his

hand out of Loki's iron grip, but it was no use.

"Let's see how mighty you are after I suck all your life out…" Loki hissed, and

Magnetos mouth was wide open, a silent cry for help, but it was too late, a fog

traveled from Loki's hand and surrounded Magneto, and when it cleared the only

thing that remained was his robes on the floor.

"**ERIC!**"

Loki's head snapped at his right side at the scream, a lady with blue skin and red

hair running towards him with intent to kill, but just like the people around

Loki who were ready to kill him they were stopped, due to the fact that more

people had joined the fight, and they had to defend themselves unless they

desired to be blown to smithereens. Loki looked around, not exactly sure what he

was supposed to do next now that Jane and the others were safe. Would he join

the fight? Loki pondered over his options; he could always just jump off the ship,

but that had hurt so much that Loki only shuddered at the thought of doing it

again. Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by a cry, no wait… A wailing?

Was there kids fighting? Loki looked around to try and find the source, which to

his astonishment seemed to be right next to him, though at the ground. Loki

stared at the spot where the wailing came from, and he crouched veeery slowly

down, lifting the robes on the ground. Loki's jaw dropped. Literally. Because

what he saw was unbelievable. There was a baby lying in the robes, and Loki's

eyes were wide in horror as he had a pretty good guess of who it might be. This

wasn't exactly look had pictured when he had learned the spell, who in the book

had called it something in the style of "taking away a person's years", which Loki

now really wish he had understood what it truly meant. Loki was now currently

holding the gurgling baby in his hands, sweat pouring out of his body as he stared

at the little cretin that had threatened his life before, and was now pulling his hair

and giggling.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with this?!" Loki half shouted and moaned at

the same time. He couldn't just leave it there, could he? But he couldn't bring it

with him, he had no experience with babies! Loki looked around, looking like he

was ready to pass along the baby to anyone who might pass by, as if he was

holding a ball. When no one seemed to be in range Loki swore and gathered the

robes on the floor to tuck the baby in, while he ran away from the battle, trying to

figure out what in Odin's name he was going to do with a baby on his hands.

This day couldn't possibly get any worse or crazier, but of course that was just

wishful thinking for Loki, who came to a dead end at the far end of the carrier,

halting abruptly in his tracks as a bright light descended onto the platform from the

sky, with five Asgardian warriors stepping through and armed to the teeth. Loki stood

absolutely still, the baby still in his arms, the mutants and everybody else fighting

behind him including his brother who sent a number of people flying over the edge

of the Helicarrier. The Asgardian soldier in the middle walked forwards from the

group and eyed Loki up from down before smirking.

"Well, well, well… If it isn't Asgards own little freak…"

Loki swallowed hard and unconsciously held the baby closer to his chest. This was

**definitely** worse than before.


	15. Confrontation and escalation

Loki breathed harshly as his brain tried to catch up on what it had just registered; five Asgardian warriors had just landed in front of him, and Loki doubted that they just wanted to chat with him, rather than beating the living crap out of him for screwing them over before he left.

Loki really didn't know why they would choose this particularly moment to drop down, but it couldn't have been a worse time to do so, seeing as he was currently stuck on a flying ship boarded with maniacs, plus the fact that he apparently had a baby now. Just his luck.

The guard in the middle strode forward a bit and took off his helmet, not that Loki didn't already know who he was; one of his old bullies, or maybe still bully, considering the fact that he still spewed foulmouthed remarks and snickers at him all the time when Thor wasn't near.

With the helmet removed the light from the earth sun shone upon the man's face, illuminating it and showing every detail. The man in question was no different than most of Asgards warriors, who chose the classic style of short hair with small stubble, accompanied with a shit-eating grin towards Loki. They all looked the same more or less, as well as how they acted towards him. Loki didn't even bother to learn their names, knowing that he would never utter it in any other form than hateful.

The guard looked around a bit before spitting onto the floor, before chuckling slightly;

"So this is where you've been hiding? Causing havoc on Asgard wasn't enough for you, so you decided to shit all over earth too? How typical of you."

Loki gritted his teeth as he still held the baby who now shifted in his arms, and unfortunately came in the sights of the guard in front of him, who in turn looked surprised before grinning with a dark glint in his eyes.

"And what is this? Have you spread your legs once again? I always took you for a cheap one, but already spitting out another creature from your disgusting hole in less than a week? You are truly the lowest kind of a whore Loki." The man looked at Loki with disgust, as well as the men behind him.

Loki gritted his teeth, and unconsciously prepared himself to kill the men, though he silently knew that if he did, Odin would send more, and he would never be able to leave.

"We should probably kill it…" The guard said snickering, and Loki's blood ran colder than usual, all while he took a better hold of the maybe not so innocent baby in his arms.

"I mean sure you brought Odin his horse, but other than that you've brought nothing good into this world, first the serpent, then the wolf that took Tyr's hand. I bet we would do everyone a favour if we killed it, not to mention if we killed you-" The guards speech was cut off abruptly, as captains Americas shield suddenly hit him square in the face, sending him tumbling back into the other guards, who fell like bowling pins.

Loki's head snapped back, watching as a person emerged from the fog of the battle, but to his surprise it wasn't Steve; it was Bucky! The shield that had been thrown flew graciously back into his flesh-arm, and he strode forward with fury in his eyes as he stared down at the Asgardian guards who wondered what in Odin's name had just happened.

Loki stood in awe as Bucky walked up beside him, giving him a look-over to make sure that he was okay. The guards rose from the ground, the one who was hit with the shield spit out the blood that ran from his nose, and he had to do so a few times before he could speak a coherent sentence in his most hissing accent;

"Who on earth are you supposed to be? The abominations father?"

Bucky gave the Asgardian a hard look, and though the guard didn't show it visibly Loki could tell that he was covering in fear.

"No." Bucky said, and the guards were all on their feet now, but before they could say any more Bucky cut them off.

"I'm his friend."

Loki's eyes went as wide as tea plates at the statement, and he was almost certain that he had heard wrong, but judging by the guards surprised faces he had to assume that he had heard right.

"His… Friend? Do you even know what kind of freak this monster is?!" One of the guards shouted, but Bucky didn't flinch at the words, nor did he seem moved at all.

"I know a thing or two about monsters… And from where I am standing I only see you five as the monsters." Bucky said, and one of the guards swore at the insult, reaching for his sword, but Bucky would have none of that.

Bucky threw one of his knives from his back-pockets at the man, who screamed in pain when the knife penetrated his hand, dropping the sword to the ground. The other guards quickly ran towards Bucky and Loki, who felt rather helpless with a baby in his arms and all, but luckily Bucky fought for both of them, and managed to floor the remaining guards under a minute. Loki looked once again in awe as Bucky staggered back a bit, his fists slightly red, and the guards groaning on the ground while crawling away.

"This isn't over… There will be more, and Odin won't be keen to you once he finds out what you and your boyfriend did to us…" One of the guards hissed as he stood up on shaky legs, while the others followed suit.

Loki looked up to the sky, undoubtedly Heimdall was watching right now… Could he not see the truth? Could he not tell Odin what the guards said towards him, or at least try to make his so called father see what happened when he looked at Thor all the time?

The Asgardian guards were soon gone, the Bifrost surrounding them and carrying them away. By this time some of the fighters had noticed them, but with all the commotion going on it was hardly the oddest thing to happen on the Helicarrier. Nevertheless some of them were making their way over to them, and both Loki and Bucky knew it was trouble, though Loki was still a bit dizzy from hearing Bucky call him his friend. Had he really meant it? Or had he just felt poor for Loki, and had decided to be nice? Whatever the reason might've been, Loki had still butterflies in his stomach, and he felt oddly… Warm. He had never really felt like this before, but at the moment he had to push his newfound feelings away, because they were still at a battlefield after all, and he had a baby to drag around on top of everything!

Bucky held up the captain's shield, and for a brief moment Loki wondered how exactly he had gotten it… Had he and Steve collided with each other? Bucky quickly started to punch and shoot those who dared go near either of them, and Loki started to stare around, trying to come up with one of his "brilliant" plans that he usually came up with, seeing as he was usually the one who saved Thor's arse when the other didn't know how to get out of a sticky situation.

Loki looked around desperately, all while dodging occasionally when something came flying towards him, which was actually quite impressive, seeing as he was also dancing around avoiding enemies, keeping the baby safe who for some strange reason seemed to be enjoying itself, judging by all the laughter it produced from its toothless mouth, all while trying to think of a plan to get off the bloody Helicarrier they were on. It was amazing that he had survived up until now, but if he didn't come up with something soon he would inevitably die, and it would undoubtedly be rather messy.

Loki looked around and tried to analyse the playfield; the entire platform was consumed by heroes and foes, and more joining in. There were now Hydra carriers beside the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, and unknown heroes flying aboard the ship and fighting. The ship they were on had no planes, and Loki did honestly not know how long it would stay air-born, considering the damage the insufferably baby in his arms had done earlier, accompanied by everyone else carelessly shooting everywhere and punching holes in every wall they came across. There was only one option; they had to jump off the ship and board on of Hydras, and then steal on of their planes. It was the only way, at least the only one that seemed logical to Loki at the moment, who didn't exactly jump in joy at the thought of falling off the Helicarrier **twice** in a lifetime, when one had been more than sufficient.

Loki quickly grabbed Bucky with one hand and hoisted him away from the battle, just in time to save him from an oncoming fire blast that would have torched him, and ran towards the edge of the carrier.

"What are you doing?!" Bucky screamed, as he now started to catch up with Loki who ran abnormally fast, something he could thank all those years running from bullies for. Loki looked back and made eye-contact with Bucky before shouting back an answer, hoping that he would hear;

"We have to jump to one of the enemy ship, otherwise we will never get off this ship!" Loki had to look ahead to make sure that the path he ran was safe, and looked back at Bucky who by now had a very surprised expression written on his face.

"Jump off the ship?! Are you mad?!" He shouted, and Loki couldn't help the small cheeky grin that spread on his face at the terrified tone, but his smile soon dropped when he realized that they were nearing the edge.¨

"Quite possibly, but that's beside the point! Do you trust me?!" Loki shouted, and he stared into Bucky's eyes, searching for the answer.

Bucky was still surprised, but after a short moment he nodded and gave Loki a small warm smile of acknowledge and trust , something that made Loki's heart skip a beat and his stomach do a double flip, and he had to look away so that Bucky wouldn't see the red colour spreading on his cheeks. Damn it, why did he feel so happy when Bucky smiled at him?

Loki shook his head as if it would shake the intruding thoughts away, and as he neared the edge of the Helicarrier, a Hydra ship not far away on the same level, he took a deep breath before carrying out his-maybe-not-so-thought-out-plan.

Loki threw Bucky with all his might with his left arm, hurling the now screaming man over the edge towards the Hydra ship, before muttering and casting a spell on himself, letting him evade the laws of physics for a brief moment, and "moon jumped" over the two massive war-ships, and landed gracefully on the enemy ship, which by now was almost completely empty, save for a few stray fighters that had managed to switch ships in their fights with one another. Loki quickly looked down at the baby in his arms to make sure that he was okay, and found the little bald creature quietly snoozing, which really was beyond Loki how he could do such a thing, but set the thought aside, considering that he'd rather have a snoring baby in his arms than a screaming one.

"Oww….."

Loki turned his attention towards Bucky, who was currently attempting to stand up, something his shaky legs seemed to be disagreeing of. Loki quickly hurried over with a slightly over-the-top smile forming on his face that he tried to hide the best he could, but seeing Bucky standing up and saying "ow,ow,ow,ow…" Multiple times made it hard not to laugh as he looked adorable, though Loki should probably check if he was okay. Right after he had enjoyed the view for a few more seconds.

"Let's agree not to do that again, okay smartass? I could've jumped on my own you know, you didn't have to throw me like a goddamn sports bag…" Bucky groaned as he stood up, but Loki could tell that he wasn't really mad.

"Yeah… sorry about that." Loki said as he rubbed the back of his head as he tried to look sorry, which was hard when Bucky was rubbing his bottom with his hand, most likely because he had landed on it before tumbling into the wall.

Loki had actually only recently just realized that Bucky was a "super-soldier" after all, but being under a lot of stress can make you forget things. Being in danger is one of them.

The enemies that had chased them had also jumped over to where they were at, and they were closing in fast. Loki set the baby in Bucky's arms, who looked very surprised, while Loki ran towards the enemies, who drew their weapons. Loki stopped a few meters from them, and by twisting his hands he called forth the ice-cube, the one his father had stolen from his people so many years ago. The cold shot like a beam towards the incoming danger, and in a matter of seconds they were completely frozen, but so was Loki, who now had his blue skin show clearly all over his body.

Loki fumbled away the box and looked back at Bucky, slowly swallowing whatever had started to form in his throat when he realized that Bucky could see what he really looked like in his throat and looked at him with weary eyes. They stood still for a moment in silence, before Bucky walked forward, and Loki felt very alarmed when the other man stretched out his arm of flesh and stroked his cheek, causing his face to heat up, and in doing so erasing the blue colour that had covered him a few moments before. Bucky stared at him, and Loki didn't dare to move; in his mind everything was going haywire, thoughts of what Bucky would do flashing before his eyes at the speed light. It wasn't until Bucky pursed his lips open into a small smile that he came back to reality.

"So that's what you look like…" Bucky murmured as he held the baby that looked curiously at Loki, while he rested on Bucky's metallic arm wrapped around him.

Loki didn't know what to say, but he took the smile as a sign that Bucky didn't mind, but he had to be sure. So he asked.

"You… Don't think I look weird?" Loki asked hesitantly, and Bucky gave him a surprised look before he roared with laughter, something that Loki defiantly hadn't anticipated. Bucky laughed for a few more moments before taking deep breaths and looking at Loki with a warm smile.

"I have seen a green giant throw planes around like toys, a man on fire flying around, a man in red armour shooting beams from his palms, a man stretch his body to impossible lengths, as well as a man growing claws from his fists? You are the least weird I have seen today, and that is no exaggeration."

Loki felt a small smile forming on his face, and he felt oddly warm yet again.

"There is nothing wrong with you Loki, nothing at all. You are alright the way you are." Bucky said, and Loki could feel his throat closing up; Loki had no idea how much he needed to hear that, and he felt relieved, though he still hoped his brother would feel the same as Bucky when he found out. However, Loki suddenly thought of something; maybe this wasn't true? Maybe Bucky was actually just playing nice, pretending to pity him as to not hurt his feelings? It was a silly thought, but the more he thought about it the more it bothered him.

"Loki, are you alright?" Bucky asked, and Loki looked up at him. Suddenly the concern seemed fake, like it was only a façade. Loki stared at him silently before speaking softly and low;

"You didn't have to say that you were my friend back then you know, I could've handled it alone." God he sounded like a spoiled brat, but the feeling in his gut had manifested, and he needed a straight answer from Bucky to make it go away; did he really care about him?

"Hmm… Yes, I had no doubts that you couldn't handle it on your own, but that's the thing Loki…" Bucky said as he put an arm on his shoulder;

"You're not alone." Loki's eyes widened and his mouth fell open.

"And besides-"Bucky mused as he smiled;

"Who said I wasn't your friend?" Loki probably looked like a goldfish at the moment, but that statement had him completely unbalanced, and he had no clue as what to do. Bucky smile turned a bit sad, and he looked at Loki with an emotional look, and Loki gulped.

"Look Loki… I know it is hard to trust people, not to mention let them into your life. When you saved my memories… I got a glimpse of yours as well…" Bucky said, and Loki could feel his entire body shaking, his senses red alerts as he stood motionless, not daring to breath, in case the sound would overthrow Bucky's.

"I saw how they treated you back there, Thor… Odin… The kids… I grew up not unlike you, and I know it is harsh; but it helps if you have someone along the way; someone who helps you even when you say no, someone who goes out of their way to save your ass and get you on your feet because they care. Sound familiar?"

It took longer than Loki would like to admit to realize Bucky was referring to him, and his cheeks were now quite red, a blasted blush rising on his cheeks, but he didn't dare look away; he simply continued to stare at Bucky, not knowing what to say.

"You saved me more times than I can count, and you helped me when I didn't have enough brains to realize I needed it. You are my friend Loki, and I am yours. Alight?" Loki gave a short nod, the rosy colour still clinging onto his cheeks.

"Good. Now let's get out of here."

They made their way over the surface of the Hydra ship, trying to locate a ship that wasn't currently being used to blow up the Helicarrier, which was no easy task, seeing as many of the ones still standing had been blown up by various super-heroes aboard the other ship.

They strode across the ship, and Loki couldn't help but feel a bit relaxed; it was after all a beautiful day, and knowing that he actually had a **friend**, made him feel all warm inside. Him! He would have never thought it possible… But here he was, walking as close to the sky one could get on earth, and he found himself enjoying the sun shining on him, the wind blowing in his face, and let's not forget the-

"Loki!" Bucky shouted as he grabbed hold of him and dragged him down in the nick of time, a gunshot passing over his head and hitting the wall behind him a split second after. Oops. Oh yeah. They were at a battlefield. Right… Probably not the right time or place to be daydreaming. Loki looked over from where they were hiding, and he saw Hydra soldiers standing a few meters away, conveniently placed in front of most likely the only plane still intact. Shit. That meant he couldn't blow them up, the risk of destroying the plane was too big for that. What should he do?

"Bucky, what should we-"Loki looked at his left, only to see nothing. He quickly stared all around, until he saw Bucky fighting the Hydra soldiers head on, and Loki suddenly felt that he had a "déjà vu" moment, remembering all the times Thor had marched ahead against an overwhelming enemy with nothing but his hammer and spot-on grin. Loki sighed but kept still, reminding himself that he still had the baby in his arms, and that he most likely wouldn't be able to deflect the metal bullets in his… Young state. Instead he summoned copies of himself, which confused the soldiers and made it possible for Bucky to knock them out more easily. But more were incoming, and it didn't look like they were going to get any backup from the superheroes. They were all alone.

Loki tried to be some sort of help by thinking of a plan, which when it came to it was his speciality after all; only problem was that he didn't know what he should do. Loki gnawed on his lip as he rocked the baby in his arms, hushing him and saying as comfortable words he could so he wouldn't scream, which he wouldn't be surprised if the baby did, seeing as bullets were flying everywhere, as well as Hydra soldiers and Captain Americas shield.

His train of thoughts were interrupted however, as he was now faced with two Hydra soldiers standing right in front of him pointing their guns at him, and though he managed to stab both of them, more joined, and when they pointed their weapons at the baby he dropped his knife with a bitter expression on his face.

The took hold of shoulders and forced him to walk out in the open, while one of them put up a hand in the air, a signal that told the others to stop fighting. Bucky was still kicking their asses, but when they stopped fighting back he too realized something had happened, and he looked back to find Loki being caught by them.

A slow clap resonated through the air, and Loki looked up, and he saw a man standing on by a railing on the upper floor of the ship, looking down at them with an amused look in his eyes, as he eyed him and Bucky.

"Well, well, well… Isn't this a touchy reunion? It's nice to see you again Bucky, I was a bit worried that you wouldn't come back to us, but here you are, and it looks like you brought friends with you. How cute. It's a shame that I will have to put them down, after all, I told you multiple times not to bring home any pets, didn't I?"

Bucky stared at the man who looked down at them with a smirk, but it didn't seem to Loki like he knew who he was, judging by the confused look on his face.

"Do I know you?" Bucky asked, still standing with his fists ready to punch another Hydra in the face.

The man above faked a reaction that would suggest that he was hurt by the question, but made it hard to believe it when he was still smirking.

"Of course you do! Or at least when I had a body, or well, my "original" body if you want to be pesky about the details. I'm the one who dragged you out of that cold hell, the man who saved you and gave your life a purpose… Do you remember who I am now?"

Bucky's eyes widened, and his fists clenched so hard that the blood on his gloves were pressed out and dripped onto the floor.

"Arnim Zola…" Bucky hissed, and his teeth were clenched, his eyes burning with a hate that Loki had never thought was possible.

"Yes!" The man bursted out and clapped in the air while he smiled, and it was easy to see that he was enjoying this.

"I'm so glad that you still remembered me… Even though my mind is now placed inside this robotic body with no emotions, I must say I felt a slight shiver of fear run through my circuits when they told me that your new pet had taken you away to give you back your previous memories, I figured he would have erased me from your mind… Nevertheless, none of that will matter; I will restore you to your former glory, so don't worry; the next time you wake up it will be as if nothing has ever changed." There was a dangerous glint in the man's eyes, and Bucky was now only seconds away from throwing himself at the other man and tear him apart.

"I will… Never go back to be what I was! Do you hear me?!" Bucky roared as he pointed an accusing finger at the man, blood dripping from it still.

The man looked at him with a monotone look, before the right end of his lips turned upward;

"Very well then, if you won't cooperate, then I guess Ill have to convince you. Kill the man."

Bucky's head snapped to the side as he now to his horror saw one of the soldiers raising his gun to Loki's head, and he cried out.

"No!"

The man above smirked and sent the soldier a glare, telling him to stand down.

"How about now? Do you feel like coming back?"

Bucky was breathing heavily, his eyes focused on Loki as he stared at him, feeling helpless.

"Let him and the baby go." Bucky said, and the man raised an eyebrow.

"Will you come with us?"

"Yes." Bucky said, and he dropped the shield on the ground, soldiers walking towards him and handcuffing him. The man sent a triumphant smirk and opened his mouth.

"Good. Kill the others." Bucky's eyes went wide again, and he quickly tore his hands free from the handcuffs, and threw them straight at the soldier aiming to shoot Loki. They hit the Hydra soldier square in the face, and Bucky quickly rushed over to them, but Loki was already surrounded by more soldiers. He looked back at the man with pleading eyes.

"Look…" Bucky said, and the man stared in silence at him, his hand still in the air, one flick away from killing Loki and the baby. Bucky took one last glance at Loki before swallowing and staring straight at the man above.

"You can break my soul, take my life away, beat me, hurt me, kill me… But for the love of god… Don't touch him." Bucky breathed harshly, all his anger had run out, and he was now pleading the man to spare Loki, who by now had red eyes from the speech. It seemed that the man above had also somewhat been moved by the speech, for Loki could have sworn he saw something flash in the man's eyes as he stood there, saying nothing. After a short while he gave a soft nod, and Bucky watched as the Hydra soldiers let him go. Loki backed away from them, and he watched as Bucky let them put on another pair of handcuffs on his hands.

Loki paused in his steps, something that didn't go unnoticed by Bucky, who turned around to see what was going on, and he locked his gaze with Loki, who stared at him with his mouth slightly open, a tear running from his right eye down his cheek.

Bucky looked at him, and even though he had just condemned himself to hell, he **still** managed to give Loki that warm smile that made his stomach flip and his heart skip a beat, and Loki took a hefty breath as he saw the Hydra soldiers putting their hands on his shoulders, urging him to move along. He gave Loki one last look before he was turned around and pushed towards the open door a few meters ahead of him.

Hi. It's me, the person/guy/girl/kraken who is writing all this to you, with a message to all those who read my story.

So… First off I would like to apologize to anyone who has been waiting a long time for me to update the story; I try to do some work every day, but school keeps me busy. This is why I need your help, and in case you are all panicking right now, thinking "Oh no he is going on a hiatus and never coming back" – chillax. I am not quitting, but I need help if the story is going to move along faster. I know what direction I want the story to go, but it's getting a bit tricky to "fill in the space between", which is why I am asking for help. This is not an obligation, but it would make me very happy if all those of you that read my story continuously, would spare a moment to leave a review, where you might leave thoughts on what you would like to happen in the story, so I might be able to fill up the chapters better.

It will be easier for me this way to write the chapters faster, which means that you will get them faster, ergo everybody wins. I am not asking for a full blown-out page about everything you would like to happen(unless you want to), just small thoughts on things that you would enjoy reading should they happen.

But it's really up to you; I can't force you to leave a review, seeing as I am currently nothing more than a voice in your head that is reading what you see on the screen, assuming that you haven't already stopped reading and are currently reading some other fan-fiction, maybe one with hot steamy coitus between Loki and Thor? No? Okay.

Look, all I'm saying is… I feel bad too, when I don't update. It pains me when I realize that I haven't updated in a week, and I really want to write more; I do. But school and all else keeps me away from writing this story, (which I by the way hope you still enjoy) and I am by this message simply letting you know that if you want the chapters to happen sooner than I would appreciate some small advices or thoughts that could help me move the story along faster. But it isn't my choice; it's yours. In the meantime I'll be continuing with the story the best I can. I hope and wish for you to have a great day.


	16. Chapter 16 assistance and Resistance

Loki was just about to say something, when two gunshots echoed behind him, and the hydra soldiers previously holding Bucky tumbled down as blood started to pour from their heads.

"Headshot! Aaaaaw yiss! How many points do you think I get for that?

[Probably none, seeing as we aren't playing a videogame…]

{Yeah… That's gonna leave a stain, should we clean it up? Do they have any leaning equipment on this ship?}

[Why would they even-, augh forget it, it's just gonna be more blood anyway, like that guy over there, 3 seconds away from getting shot.]

Loki quickly turned around only to find yet another person dressed up in a ridiculous costume, this time in red and black. The man had two guns in the air, like he didn't care. Loki quickly looked back to see Bucky picking up the hydra soldiers weapons, all while the robot-man up above screamed orders for more soldiers to come and kill them. The man in red and black, who was still talking nonsense, seemed to not care that he was talking to himself or that more soldiers were running towards them.

They were however stopped in their tracks as Bucky had picked up a larger gun, and was currently in the midst of shooting everybody around him, save for Loki.

When he finally stopped there were hydra soldiers everywhere, but the man who was a robot was nowhere to be found.

"He must've fled…" Loki thought to himself, before hearing a low grunt behind followed by a long moan:

"OooooOOooooOOooowwweeeiieee….. Is this the thanks I get? Twenty bullets all over my body? This hero thing is harder than I thought…"

{Well it is for a good cause...}

"Yes! Sweet honey-bunny smoochy-time with Peter when he sees all my wounds, he'll be all over me, giving me Band-Aid's, kissing my boo-boos…"

[Assuming that they are still there when you get home… which judging by our healing factor healing you as you talk will not likely happen.]

Loki turned around and saw the man lying on the ground, blood gushing out of his body, however he didn't seem as worried as someone who was about to die would be. Loki quickly walked over and helped him up in a sitting position; the man had after all saved Bucky from being taken away by those hydra soldiers.

Loki's eyes marveled as he saw that the wounds closed up and healed themselves, in only a matter of seconds. The man made a small grin under his mask as he took out the last bullet that had hit him, and finished by spitting out a bullet the had worked its way longer into his body than his fingers could reach.

"Who… Are you?" Loki asked hesitantly, having never seen someone take that much beating and survive. The man smiled brightly, and before Loki could react he bounced up, posed in a ridiculous position and shouted as loud as he could.

"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIImmmmmmm… DEADPOOL!"

{Awesome pose! Just like Franky in One Piece!}

[Yes… Thankfully you have more clothes on you than him.]

(Authors note; I imagined his voice to be like the one he had in the "Ultimate Spiderman Cartoon, AKA Ron Stoppable from Kim possible voice, but feel free to read his voice differently in your head, I'm a text after all, not a cop.)

After that a most awkward silence befell, with both Loki and Bucky staring at Deadpool, the only one who seemed to be excited was baby magneto, who was now laughing in Loki's arms. After a short while Deadpool looked down and stared at them, only now realizing that they had no idea whatsoever who he was.

"Aww, man! C'mon! I might not have a movie now, but just wait until 2016, that's only 2 years away! Wait… This is 2011, so that means… Aww… 4 years?! I can't wait that long!"

[Well we have waited a long time already… Kind of sucks that we were written into a fan-fiction that takes place in 2011…]

{Whatever, none of that will matter when we get our movie! People will finally forget how ugly I was in that X-men movie with the laser beams and all that… I still have nightmares about it…}

Loki was still staring at the man, and now he was quite positive that the man before him was insane. Deadpool sighed and picked up the guns he had dropped and put them in his holsters. He then pulled up hi mask slightly, revealing scarred skin underneath, which shocked Loki who was still fixating his gaze on the peculiar man before him. Deadpool then proceeded to shove his right hand middle finger into his mouth, suck on it, and then hold it high in the air while waving it around with the other fingers of the hand folded down.

"Hmm… My common sense tells me that standing here increases our chances of getting blown to smitter-ines, therefore I declare the most logical action to move our fellow-ly shared buttocks away from here, savvy?"

{Why are we talking like a pirate?}

[I think it's British actually.]

Loki's eyes squinted slightly as he tried to comprehend what the hell the man was talking about, but when he heard gunshots he realized that it probably had something to do with where they were and who was searching for them. Loki quickly ran after Deadpool who had started to run with both of his guns out in the air, with Bucky following after him, shielding him with Captain Americas shield.

As Loki looked back at the Helicarrier they had previously been on, he saw that the fight was still ongoing, only difference was that the whole ship seemed to be ever-so-slowly going down, with fire burning across it.

"Where are we going?!" Loki shouted at Deadpool, who seemed to be dancing as he ran, swinging his guns around, and somehow hitting all the soldiers who came to close, and those he did not hit were smart enough to stand back, at least for the time being.

"Eeehh… Away from the shooting guys?"

[Except were also shooting…]

{Yeah, but were shooting the bad guys, so it doesn't count! :3}

"Exactly!"

"What?!" Bucky shouted, who was right behind Loki now, who was trying to hold baby magneto safely in his arms while also trying to figure out a plan. While people were shooting at him. It was not an easy task. Suddenly, as large laser beam came from above, and Loki barely had time to react, but he managed to grab Bucky and shove him against the wall, Deadpool jumping out of the way. Silence fell over them, and it seemed that everybody on the battlefield had noticed, because the silence stretched across the two ships. And up in the sky was a frikkin third ship. Loki had had just about enough of all the clichés that had happened him this day, which didn't seem to have an end. Then, a crispy but demeaning sound echoed in the sky:

"Attention Hydra, S.H.I.E.L.D. and other vigilantes—

You are now prisoners of A.I.M."

"….."

"You have got to be kidding me…" Loki muttered under his breath, looking to his side to find Bucky looking up at the ship with a similar expression to his, which was a mix between annoyance, tiredness and panic.

Deadpool had just now noticed the ship, most likely because he was talking to himself all the time. Nevertheless he gave a loud response;

"What the juice?!"

[We really need a better catch-phrase than that one…]

{What about booyah, is that taken?}

The ship above them, who was three times the size of the Helicarrier, directed its weapons towards the two ships below. Out from the holes soldiers poured out like a waterfall, each one armed to their teeth. The battle broke out once again, with the exception of another party joining the frisky hobby of punching and kicking up in the air. Loki was so absorbed by the commotion that spread over the other ship, that when the A.I.M. soldiers surrounded him and Bucky he was taken by surprise.

One of the people surrounding stepped forward. The person, like the rest of them, was wearing a bright yellow hazard suit, with the face hidden by a black window. He stood in silence for a moment, examining the group, who by most would strike as odd; One person with a robotic arm and a shield, another with a baby Magneto in his arms, and the third guy looked like some weird Santa-clause slash Spider-man slash Deathstroke.

Before however any of the men surrounding them with their guns could do anything, Deadpool stepped forward and held up his hands in defeat.

"Ok, ok, I wasn't planning on telling anyone, but seeing as it seems the good ol president has sent a hazard team to deal with a gas leak… It was me. In my defense, I had lots of Chimichangas yesterday, but thankfully I am wearing a diaper. And brown pants. On the outside of the diaper, in case the leak leaks and…. Yeah…

{Ha! Too little too late for that, the lava is already on its slow move down your right leg!}

[We shouldn't have eaten so many, especially not with so strong chili! Our ass is on fire!]

A most heavy silence befell the group, the men whose faces was hidden by masks could only be appalled if Loki had to guess, who at the moment sidestepped away from Deadpool who stared around at everyone, who in return started to back away, some of the men turning around and puking, seeing as the smell had started to spread. Soon enough one of them who had held a hand up to his right side of his mask-covered face, took it down and looked at the other men beside him before speaking;

"M.O.D.O.K. just wants the guy with the baby, kill the others. Especially the guy who just shat himself.

The men immediately raised their guns towards Deadpool and Bucky, who was currently shielding Loki with the shield he "borrowed" from the captain. The sounds of the guns charging echoed, and it seemed as if all other sounds were vanquished at the moment, the wind, the screams… Everything went silent.

One would might ask Loki at the moment why he wasn't using magic, his only weapon in combat, unless you counted his silver tongue in of course. It would make it easy, wouldn't it? Why not just magic everything better?

"Then Loki wiggled his fingers and everything was fine. Also his mission/ adventure was complete and he had a pony and balloons and friends and a cosmic cube as a bonus. The end." Well… It's not a very good story, is it?

So let's talk about magic. We can dicker about on the exact rules if you like. There are all sorts of grimoires and cryptonomicons. But at the basis it's about taking something, like a thought and making it real.

Normally in situations like these Loki would lie and make up some crazy story he had just thought of in his brilliant head. Sometimes verbally to others, but also in form of magic. That was the basis and core of magic: to tell a lie so utterly, cosmically perfectly well-thought out that for even just a shining moment for a second… The universe itself believes you and makes it possible. Nothing becomes the possible.

But to do that one would have to have their thoughts in order, and preferably not holding a baby in their arms with people holding guns at you at the same time. That is a terrible mix that only leads to crying and shooting. Often at the same time. So the only response Loki could think of at the moment was to shout out;

"No!" He shouted, standing in front of Bucky and the man who had ordered to kill them.

It seemed his outburst had bought scared off the men with their guns, who now only invaded his personal space with 2 meters. Loki managed to catch his breath and his wildly running thoughts before speaking;

"Don't kill them. I'll go with you, but leave them be."

The man before him stared at him silently for a moment before once again reaching up with his right hand to his right side of his face. He stood quietly for a moment, before residing the hand giving a short nod to Loki and the rest of his men.

"Fine, we won't kill them. But you are all prisoners, so come with us. If you do not comply we will shoot you. And someone get some new clothes for the guy who shat himself!"

They started to walk awkwardly towards the ship above, which in return lowered closer to where they were, and beamed them aboard.

It was a slow and awkward wait in the ship, as the first priority for the men inside seemed to be to change Deadpools clothes, who waved happily before they shoved him away. Loki and Bucky stood still as they waited for Deadpool, neither of them sure of what to say or what they could do at the given moment.

"Loki?"

Loki quickly turned to where the voice came from, which was coincidently where Bucky was standing, who at the moment looked a tad bit concerned.

"Are you alright?" Bucky asked, and Loki could see the sincerity in those beautiful eyes. Did he just think Bucky had beautiful eyes?

"Aah… Yes. I mean, I am kidnapped, holding a baby who wanted to kill me less than an hour ago, but other than that? Pretty alright I guess." Loki couldn't help himself as he let out a small chuckle, and Bucky grinned too. It felt great to laugh, even though they really shouldn't. It helped him forget where they were, what had happened and what was ahead of him.

At least they were together now he thought as he side glanced at Bucky, who smiled brilliantly at him with his eyes shining in the light the lamps casted on the pair. Loki blushed a bit at the thought, and he had to look away a bit so Bucky wouldn't notice, and pretended like he was checking for exits. Which apparently did not seem to be anywhere close to them. Great.

After a while Deadpool came back, being escorted by two guards with weapons pointed at his back. He had the same outfit on as earlier, and there was no sign of bruises or blood on him, but maybe that was because the suit covered it. He walked happily towards them, whistling while he did so, as if it was just another ordinary day.

Together they now walked altogether along a long hall, leading towards one big door at the end. As they walked they were joined by a few Hydra soldiers who were captured with them. For a moment they continued to walk in silence, until one of them looked at his side and stared at Deadpool.

"Mr. Wilson?!"

Deadpool immediately looked at his side, and at first there was a monotone pause, before he hastily and at the same time hesitantly responded verbally;

"….Bob?"

The Hydra soldier who apparently was named Bob(what kind of name is that anyway thought Loki as he stared at the man) smiled brightly and nodded his head, clearly rather excited to meet Deadpool. Loki wondered how on earth the two of them had met each other more than one time without Deadpool accidently killing the man.

"Bob!" Deadpool exclaimed again, now sounding very happy and merry himself.

Oh Bob. Bobbie. Boobie, Bubbie, baby Bab. By what strange circumstances is it that we find each other together at this place?

{Fate!}

[Or the fact that he is a Hydra…]

Bob scratched the back of his head and gave a small chuckle and a smile before responding.

"Ah, well you see… It seemed that Hydra needed a lot of manpower to get some soldier back or whatnot, so I flew up like everybody else right? Then I barely get out of the plane and into the action before I trip- I-I mean someone hit me, yeah that's right! And the next thing I know I'm trapped here!"

There was a shared snort among the moving group, and Bob looked away a bit, his cheeks a bit more red.

"Don't worry Bob, I'll get us out of this mess… Right after I wipe the floor with these bosons, reclaim my awesome weapons they took from me and slice and dice the rest of them…"

{Great plan! Just like the golden days, simple and fun!}

[We should probably though refrain ourselves from announcing our plans to everybody before we actually do them… Kinda makes it harder to carry them out…]

There was a light chuckle from one of the guards walking alongside them.

"Good luck with that mate, when M.O.D.O.K. is finished with you lot there will be nothing but ashes left of you."

Loki looked at Bucky to see if he had any plans of escape, but when he stared at him he could see that his gaze was fixated on Bob and the other Hydra soldiers walking besides them, and there was a murderous glint in his eyes. At first Loki was confused, but then he recalled; It was Hydra who had took everything from Bucky, ripped him apart and sewn him back together with nothing but killing for purpose. Loki bit his lower lip as he thought about how Bucky must be feeling at the moment. He wished he could help. The rest of the walk was spent in silence, save from the snoring of Magneto in Loki's arms and Bobs nervous fidgeting.

Soon enough the company found themselves by the large door, and Loki felt somehow swept away by an unpleasant feeling as one of the guards walked forwards and input the code to open the doors. He felt as if as soon as those doors opened something even worse was going to happen. Loki sighed a bit as he stood still and waited for the imminent. Ever since he left Asgard everything had gone downhill. Sure, he had gotten his brother his stupid hammer back and assisted Bucky, but where had it all led him? And what would happen if he even managed to escape this challenge? The Asgardians knew of his escape, and Odin would not likely let him go, and even if he managed that there was still Thor and, and… No matter how far I will run… My past in Asgard will catch up with me, Loki thought bitterly as he lowered his head and inhaled deeply, bracing himself before facing yet another obstacle in his way.

The doors opened, revealing a colossal room: there were earthly computers and other sorts of technology all over the room, people sitting around and working, all of them turning their head to look at them when they came in. It was really creeping Loki out, and at the same time he couldn't help but giggle a little bit at the thought of what the workers thought of them when they walked into their room. They weren't exactly your typical tourists as to say. The people working turned their attention back to their computers and continued with whatever they were working on. They were stationed at the far right and left of the room, below floor level. In the middle of the room was a path that led to the end of the long room or hangar, where stairs led up to a platform, where a gigantic chair was, big enough for the green monster Loki had seen earlier to sit on.

When they had walked all the way to end of the room they found themselves at the bottom of the stairs. The giant screen that the almost equally giant chair was faced toward displayed the ongoing battle below, which didn't seem to have become any less violent.

Slowly the chair turned around, and Lokis eyes sprung open in horror and appellation as he saw what sat in that chair: It was a gigantic head, enveloped in a yellow chair-suit, with purple metal arms and legs sticking out that was disproportionate to the head by far. Even the giant face didn't look normal, with eyes without pupils, and a giant purple circle on the forehead with a red gem inside. It was a bizarre sight indeed for Loki to behold.

"Aah… Deadpool what an unpleasant surprise to meet you again, especially after you threw a grenade at me, threw me out of my chair while I was falling from my aircraft to the ground, and your friend from Hydra stole my chair…"

Deadpool scratched the back of his head a bit before answering in a nonchalant voice;

"You're still not mad about that are you?"

[I'm picking up subtle hints that he is.]

{Well it's hard to say, his face is pretty monotone, so we can't know if he's joshing, right?}

[From a scale to yes or no on being happy to see us? No.]

One of M.O.D.O.K:s small fists or perhaps regularly sized fists that seemed like baby hands compared to the rest of his body/ head clenched in anger, and Loki could see the seething fury coming off of him as he stared at Deadpool, who didn't seem moved or terrified by the enormous head in the room.

"No in the slightest…" M.O.D.O.K. hissed through his teeth, his face reddening by each second passing. But Loki had had enough of the chit-chat, and decided to break in.

"I'm sorry, but who exactly are you? And what do you want with me? Have I offended you in the past? Because I can see myself doing that."

M.O.D.O.K. turned his attention and head a few centimeters to his right, now staring at Loki. His face changed from somewhere between really angry and hateful to mediocrely happy and smug while still pissed off.

"My apologies. I am M.O.D.O.K. A mental organism designed only for killing. Once, I was a mere guinea pig for the scientists of A.I.M., but they did their job too well, and now… I am their master!"

There was a pause, and Loki didn't really know how to respond to it, so he chose to stare at the giant face of boe a few more seconds before responding.

"Aaand you want me here because?"

There was a wicked grin that made itself onto M.O.D.O.K., and Loki suddenly felt a chill go down his spine as the giant face chuckled darkly.

"Oh… I think we both know why I brought you here. It's because of my hobby, which is killing, a talent you seem familiar with. But as much as I am interested in knowing exactly who you are and where you came from, the real object of my attention is the cosmic cube in your possession…"

Loki dropped his head and made a grimace. Of course, it was the bloody Tesseract, which he still had on him, hidden in a pocket that the guards had not managed to find when they ransacked them. Technically it was only a small piece, with the real one being somewhere safe hopefully. But it seemed it was enough for this giant face to catch a sniff and locate. Loki sighed and looked at the floor, unsure of what to say.

"I can assure you that if you give it to me… Your deaths will be swift and painless."

There was a very short amount of silence before Deadpool reached up his right arm and waved his hand, as if he was in class. It caught the giant heads attention, and Deadpool was quick to talk.

"What about me? Because unless you've been living under a rock for the past years, I am known as a hard man to kill"

{That's what she said!}

[What? That doesn't even make sense!]

{That's what she said!}

[What I don't, I-augh, I'm just going to ignore you from now on.]

M.O.D.O.K. looked at Deadpool bitterly, before giving a small (or big considering the size of the head, take your pick) smirk, showing his teeth.

"I am well aware that you healing factor will keep you from dying, and as much as I would love keeping you prisoner here and kill you over and over again… I have other plans for you."

Deadpool tilted his head to his side and made an expression under his mask that could be interpreted as confusion, or something else. It was hard to tell.

"Since I can't destroy your body… I'll just have to kill your mind!"

A silence swept by, and it seemed to take Deadpool a bit longer to respond this time, but sure as the sun rose he opened his mouth and spoke;

"Giant baby head says what now?"

{I think he wants to… Erase our minds? How would he even do that? Is that legal? Is he a legitimate brain-killer doctor?}

[I don't think so… Besides there isn't really much in here worth destroying, not since Butler-…..]

"Guards! Take Deadpool to my laboratory, where I will experiment on him later, and make sure he doesn't escape!"

The Guards hoisted Deadpool by his arms and dragged him away, and Loki really wondered how in joutenheim he would get out of this mess.

"Mr. Wilson!" Bob cried out as he tried to struggle himself free from the iron grip grasp of the guards, which was painful to watch for everybody present in the room.

"As for the rest of you…" M.O.D.O.K. said as soon as Deadpool was out of the room, leaving a small pause to take place before continuing with the talking.

"I will deal with you later, but given our current position with the heroes down below fighting, the judgment will be postponed until I am at a safe distance and sure no one can come and rescue you."

Loki looked at Bucky and Bob, who both seemed a bit agitated at the thought of what exactly the giant head had planned for them.

"Guards! Take them away to separate cells, and keep a look at them at all times! No one will escape!"

And with that the guards led them away, M.O.D.O.K. turning around in his big chair towards the screen. As they walked through the halls Loki saw many cells containing people who looked… tired. He silently wondered how long they had been there. Soon enough they found themselves at their cells, each one getting a separate one next to the other. Loki looked silently at Bucky before he was pushed inside his cell, wishing that someone would come and help them. Then Loki sat in his cell, the baby still in his arms. He was really glad that they let him keep it. He wasn't actually sure why they let him, or why he even cared about the baby who, at the moment was peacefully sleeping in his arms, unaware of what a dangerous place it was in. Loki sighed as he sat on the floor, leaning his back against the wall. He looked up into the ceiling, the metallic cover shining in the light of the lamp illuminating his cell.

He felt as if he had done this before, and wondered if his journey would just be in and out of prison cells all the time. He gave one last sigh before closing his eyes. Maybe someone would come and rescue them. Hopefully.


	17. Chapter 17 The past and the Present

Loki opened his eyes for the umpteenth time, and he sighed loudly. He had tried to catch some shut-eye, but the stress took its toll on him, and even though he wasn't in life-threatening danger per say (though that would be debatable, considering where he actually was against his will), he still couldn't calm his pulse enough to let him sleep. The baby in his arms however, slept soundly. Loki supposed that was better than screaming and crying, which baby Magneto probably would have done if he knew where he was. Loki looked up at the ceiling quietly, the glass wall and door right in front of him reflecting his current state. Loki quietly looked down and observed himself for a minute. His hair was a fashion disaster, and though his clothes were still intact they had seen better days. If he knew this was where he would end up he might've not gone away at all. It was still better than what could've happened though, Loki mused to himself as he quietly stroked the baby with his thumb. He tried to close his eyes again. How long had he been on the ship? Minutes? Hours? Days? Most unlikely, but time seemed to elude him as he sat isolated in a cell, save for the baby of course. He closed his eyes and embraced the darkness, and tried to steady his breath. But then it appeared. The thought. The blasted thought that had haunted him since he left Asgard. The thought of his brother. He could be worrying if his brother was safe and unharmed.

But the thing that had him worried was not his brother's safety, but rather what awaited when he finally met him again. Loki knew that he would have to tell him. For all his misplaced hatred towards his brother during his upbringing in Asgard, he owed Thor the truth. He just hoped that Thor would accept it and him as well.

But as memories from his past flooded his mind, that hope seemed to drown sweep away. After all, Thor and Odin had always had a shared hatred for the frost-giants. Odin had of course had a legitimate reason with the war and all, but for Thor… It had been about making Odin proud. And that meant smashing frost giants to prove himself worthy.

Loki smiled sheepishly as he remembered just how eager Thor had been to wield Mjölnir and fight the ice giants.

You see, at that time, oh so long ago, Mjölnir was kept in a safe room by Odin, with a spell that burned anyone unworthy who dared to touch it.

Guess three times who kept trying to take it? Here's a hint; someone who didn't learn by his past mistakes.

It became Thor's mission to prove himself worthy, and thus wielding Mjölnir and showing his father just what a wonderful son he was. So while Loki was reading magic books, Thor chose to spend his time with various things, for example challenging and defeating all the other Asgardian kids, and when that didn't work he moved on to monsters, and so on. The thing was, every time Thor didn't prove himself worthy he got burned when he touched the hammer, and since he couldn't tell his mother or father (who had both told him explicitly multiple times to not touch Mjölnir), he had no choice but to turn to Loki, less he wanted the doctors to tell the king and queen why he had a bandage on his hand.

It had been such a long time ago, when things were simpler, yet starting to get a bit tense between the two brothers.

Loki hummed softly as he remembered one of their many meetings after yet another failed attempt from his brother at grasping and lifting the hammer his brother was obsessed with;

"Lokiiiiiiiii~~~"

The sound echoed silently in the hall, like a small whine you would hear from a baby when it wants attention. Ten year old Loki turned his attention from the book he was currently reading towards the source of the whining voice.

Loki had been sitting on a window sill by one of the many windows stretching across in the long halls of Asgards castle, the sunlight from the outside world illuminating the pages in the magic book he was reading. His left leg was bent upwards as he sat on the small space, supporting his book, and the other one lazily resting on the floor, so that if bullies were nearby he had at least a foot out to kick them with.

His gaze wandered from the book he was reading towards his brother, who was holding his right hand with his left, small tears at the corners in his eyes, something that most likely had to do with the fact that his right hand had a distinct burn-like colour stretching across a large area of his hand.

Loki gave an exasperated sigh and closed the book in the air with both of his hands flat on both of the books side, and closed his eyes to collect himself.

"What is it Thor? Did you burn your fingers trying to use Mjölnir again?"

"…"

The short silence to his question confirmed Loki's suspicion of his brother's recent whereabouts and doings.

He sighed again and wondered how they were related before talking.

"Sometimes I wonder which one of us is the mischievous one…"

Loki murmured as he stared at his brother with one eyebrow raised suggestively.

"Don't tell mother, please!?"

Thor sobbed, staring at Loki with wide eyes, the small tears on his eyes shining in the bright and warm sunlight that poured in from the windows into the hallway.

Loki's eyes twitched at the loud sobbing and the pleading voice.

Did his brother really think he would rat him out and tell mother? Then again, anyone who was risking their mothers rage would probably be pleading if the risk was that she would find out.

"Of course I won't! Now come here and let me see your hand!"

He demanded, and Thor quickly scuffled over from Loki's behind and sat quietly in front of him on the window sill. Thor held out his right hand and laid it in Loki's hand, and he moaned quietly when his burned skin met Loki's cold skin.

Loki looked at the hand for a moment, before he drew a long breath and gently blew onto the hand. Now normally your breath is warmer when it comes out, because the air has been inside your warm body, but for Loki it was the opposite of that. At the time it really bothered him since he couldn't figure out why, and he always tried not to breathe too close to someone, since then they might notice.

After a few seconds of blowing onto Thor's hand the red marks disappeared and Loki let Thor's hand go.

"Better?"

He asked with a small smirk on his face as his brother blinked away the tears and held out his right hand to examine it properly.

"Yup!"

Thor said, happily, and it looked to Loki like his brother was ready to yet again set out and prove himself worthy. He expected Thor to run of any second, but instead he did something surprising to Loki. He grasped Loki's head and brought it close to his own, giving Loki an Eskimo kiss. Loki flushed and blushed brightly as his brother grinned brightly, the sun shining on him almost making it appear as if his hair was glowing.

"You are amazing brother! I know I can always count on you for help!"

Thor said happily as he still held Loki's face very close to his own.

Loki only smiled and gently held his brothers wrist and enjoyed the moment he knew would soon only be a memory.

"Of course! You big dummy…"

The two brothers smiled together as the warm sun shone on them, both feeling utterly contempt at the moment.

But after his brother had left him alone by the window, Loki's gaze traveled to the room his brother had been in earlier. He silently stared at it for a long time, and even though it was a long way from where he was sitting he felt drawn to it. Nevertheless he returned to his book, but soon closed it and walked away, feeling that he couldn't concentrate on the words on the pages anymore. Maybe he could be distracted with Thor for a while. With that thought he walked the same way his brother had ran a few minutes ago.

As Loki sat in his cell he recalled that he had actually tried himself to lift the hammer once. It had not ended well. His gaze hardened and his smile disappeared as he silently stared at the ceiling before closing his eyes and recalling the events of another day, a day that he would always remember, even if he did not want to.

It had been somewhere after hundredth time he had healed his brothers burns from attempting to lift the hammer, and at that time a certain thought had started to crawl itself into Loki's mind; At first it was only a fleeting thought, one he had many of as he observed other people and made remarks in his head. But this one came back to him from time to time, until it was a daily thought that even kept him up at nights from sleeping;

What if his brother wasn't actually meant to be the ruler of Asgard?

``What if it was I who was and should be king?´´

That thought had circulated Loki's mind so many times, and he somehow ended up passing the chamber where Mjölnir was kept more than once on his daily walk through the castle, be it walking from the library with a new magic book to dig into, running away in chaste from bullies, or just exploring. Until one day, when he had come to a stop outside the door. He had been holding a small notebook in his hands were he scribbled down exits around Asgard, as well as pathways for sticky situations. Loki had by his early age accepted that there were people around him that wanted to cause him harm, but rather than telling his parents or brother he resolved into taking the matter into his own hands.

The whole reason behind it was mainly because he didn't want to be a burden to his father, who already rarely spared him some time of the day when he wasn't indulged in ruling the kingdom or spending quality time with his brother.

But by whatever circumstances had brought Loki to the outside of this particular door, one like so many other doors in the castle, it was not by chance that he knew what laid inside it.

And this time he wasn't going to walk past it. Loki had put the notebook in his front pocket, and he looked around to see if anyone else was in the hall, or if his brother was storming towards the door to attempt to lift the hammer. Again.

When no one was in sight, and the only sound Loki heard was the drumming of his heart beating in his chest, and the loud and quick breaths he was taking he gripped the handle of the door. His gaze was now fixated in the handle and the hand grasping it, only looking away from it when his paranoid mind had thought it heard something, which for someone who was constantly chased by bullies on a daily basis really couldn't be blamed for. Loki stared at the hand and handle again, sweat starting to pour from his forehead, and his thoughts flying around at the speed of light in his head;

``What if someone sees me? What if Thor or father comes in? Or mother?! Should I just leave? Can I just do that? No! I have to do this! What if I can lift the hammer? I will never know if I don't try! But if I get caught…´´

With these thoughts rampaging in Loki's mind the boy finally took action, and with his now sweaty hand he pulled down the handle and attempted to open the door and rush in, only to bang his head right at the door and fall back onto the floor.

``Oh yeah… The door is locked you dumbass.´´

Loki thought to himself as he covered his nosebleed with his hand and wiped it off of him on the carpet. Loki quietly and quickly looked at his right to see if someone saw him fail miserably; no one was there. Then he checked his left side; No one was their either. After the conclusion that no one was present or coming, Loki scrabbled to his feet, unlocked the door with a spell and rushed inside before locking the door hastily.

He now stood facing the door, his back turned on the ominous blue light that shone behind him. His heart and pulse was pumping at an alarming rate, and Loki was trying to calm his breath the best he can, since he imagined the entire castle could hear them by now.

Ever so slowly Loki turned around, both of his hands pressed against the wooden door, as if he was trying to keep a horrendous beast outside from coming in and tearing him apart. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at where the light came from, and there he saw it; the hammer, standing there for anyone to come by and take. But of course it wasn't that easy. There was a reason that the hammer hadn't moved in such a long time after all, and Loki was now really starting to wonder if he would be the person to lift the hammer from its dusty pedestal. The boy slowly started to walk from the door and towards the hammer, one step at a time, as if he expected to step on a booby trap any time now.

After what seemed like an eternity of slow-walking, which included many halts when Loki had stepped on a spot that emitted a loud creaking noise, he had finally made it to the hammer, which was right in front of him, although a bit higher up than him. Loki stretched his arms and managed to grab hold of the lowest part of the handle of the hammer, while standing on his tippy-toes. He got the grip as good as he could, and after taking many calming and in-between alarming and panicking breaths he heaved. He pulled the hammer with all that he had towards himself, since he was technically standing below it. And to his amazement, as he pulled the hammer tilted. It actually moved! Loki was beyond himself as his eyes saw the small crack of light that seeped in from under that small space he had created between the hammer and the pedestal, and thoughts started to flow his mind, of how his father would be so proud, and how he would finally who that wretched oaf of a brother he had that he was worthy, and, and… That's when it happened. Suddenly the hammer started to go backwards, and despite Loki's desperate attempts to make it lift it wouldn't budge. Loki removed his hand momentarily and stared at that blasted infuriating hammer. No. he had tilted it! Why would it deny him to lift it?! What had he done in his life to deserve this! He had never hurt anyone, nor bullied or sinned! Why was he not worthy?!

Loki grasped the hammer again with anger flowing through him, but this time his hands were burned by the hammer. But he did not care. Loki held on, and as the flames licked his palms that would not let go, a chilly feeling traveled through Loki veins, as if his body was trying to cool him down.

Finally after previously holding the hammer with both hands and legs pushing off from the pedestal, the hammer which by now was engulfed in flames exploded in Loki's hands, or at least it seemed that way. Loki was sent flying across the room and into the door, while the hammers flames resided and the ominous blue light returned as if nothing had occurred to it.

And Loki sat there, most of his body lying on the ground, except his head that was resting slightly upward on the wooden door, which at the moment had blood on it. Loki's blood. Loki didn't say anything. He just stared at that infernal, blasted hammer that caused him so much pain. Tears flowed from his eyes, and he clenched his teeth and lips so hard he felt blood coming out from his mouth, but he could not care less. Because he was not worthy. The one hope he had had, that he was different and worthy, and that he could rule Asgard and show his worth… Was just crushed and blown out the window. He knew deep inside that he would never lift that hammer again, no matter how many times he tried. It would be Thor who would lift it. It was always Thor, Thor who got his parents approval and love, Thor who had everyone's eyes on him and Thor who would sit on the throne of Asgard. But not him. Because as it seemed he apparently was not worthy.

And as Loki lay there, staring at the hammer he loathed, he felt a cold darkness grip his heart and twist it harshly, as if it was wrenching out all his bottled up hate and despair he had kept there, and allowed it to freely flow inside him.

It was the earliest moment Loki had recalled of truly hating his brother, his father, the kingdom, and last but not least himself. It was the moment he had stumbled on his path and lost his way.

Loki slowly opened his eyes and gazed at his reflection, playing the memory over and over in his head, faintly remembering what he had felt back then. He could only remember so much from his past that wasn't bad, but that was one of his most cherished moments, where he and his brother had been so close, before the un-worthiness and bullying had taken its toll on him. Before he had known the truth about himself and his heritage.

Loki looked down quietly in his lap, not at anything particular. At the moment he wasn't even thinking, just… staring aimlessly.

Loki's eyes darted upwards however, when a sound broke the silence. Loki looked up, and what he saw made him shudder. Two guards of the ship walked across the hall, and they were dragging a man across the floor. It was Deadpool. He was almost naked, except for a pair of briefs. He was leaving a trail of blood, and he didn't move at all. The guards simply tossed him into a cell on Loki's left side and threw in some garments for him to wear before leaving. They stared silently at Loki as they walked back the way they came, and Loki stared back, now feeling fury at the thought of what they had done to Deadpool.

Loki suddenly felt the need to talk to someone, and since Deadpool was unconscious, it was only logical to talk Bucky, who Loki luckily enough had a way to speak to. The walls between the two of them didn't allow verbal sound to pass through, but communication through thoughts was a whole other thing. Loki shuffled over the floor and pressed himself against the wall on his right side, while at the same time closing his eyes. He was now currently sitting on the floor with his head resting against the wall.

He mumbled a spell quietly, as if he was afraid that the guards were listening. Maybe they were. When he had established a link between his own mind and Bucky's, Loki hesitantly tried to think of a good way to ease Bucky into the conversation. After all, if someone else's voice suddenly popped into your head, what would you think?

"Bucky?" Loki said in his mind, and he could feel a jolt in the other man's mind.

On the other side of the wall Bucky jolted, his eyes sprung open. He had previously been sitting against the wall and watching the guards drag Deadpool across the hall. Now however, he was standing in the middle of the room he was contained in, and was looking around, trying to pinpoint where Loki's voice had emitted from.

"Loki?" Bucky said hesitantly, shaking a little bit as he was still looking around. Thankfully the same name had come up in his head, alerting Loki that he had indeed heard him.

"Yes Bucky it's me. I'm talking to you through a telepathic link. I am still in my cell, and we can't talk verbally to each other, but this way we can keep in touch. Don't let the guards know though, or else they might alert M.O.D.O.K."

There was a small pause, of which Loki guessed Bucky spent digesting what had just happened. But surprisingly fast he got a response which was not terrified thoughts of going mad and all that what-not nonsense people screamed when they had voices in their heads.

"Loki? How does this work, do I just think in my head, or do I talk, or-"

"Just thinking is enough, but you could scooch over to the wall, then the link will be closer and easier to uphold".

Loki smiled a bit as he sat against the wall, picturing Bucky in his cell looking all confused and looking around. He was careful not to verbally say anything in his mind though, seeing as Bucky would know of it then.

Bucky proceeded to move towards the wall on his left, and put his palm against it, as if he thought that he could walk through it. He stood silently for a moment before staring out at the hallway, to see if any guards were observing him. There was no one there, but Bucky chose to sit down, facing the other wall and assuming a position that to outside spectators would describe as "slouching" or sleeping. Bucky closed his eyes and rested both of his arms on his bent knees before breathing in and collecting his thoughts.

"So… By what occasion are you talking to me in my head?"

Loki gnawed on his bottom lip. He couldn't really tell Bucky that he had wanted to talk to him simply because he felt lonely and needed someone to talk to… Could he?

"I just saw the guards drag Deadpool across the floor, and by the looks of him M.O.D.O.K. must've really tortured him to the extremes… It almost looked like he was dead, but he's immortal right? He said he couldn't kill him?"

"Probably, but that isn't always a good thing… You'd be surprised what you can live through."

There was something bitter about that thought, and Loki contemplated the fact that Bucky probably wished he had been dead when he met Steve after all that time. Loki was silent for a few seconds, before trying to think of something to say to Bucky.

"So what about you? What will you do from here on out, given that we escape?"

Loki's eyes widened at the question Bucky just asked him, and as he now sat with his back against the wall just like Bucky, he really had nothing to say or think about. The question seemed so simple, yet so vast when he tried to think about what he actually wanted to do. Up until recently, before leaving Asgard everything had revolved around his adoptive father, and how he should be a ruler so he could make him proud. After that it had been about leaving, just abandoning everything he had known to venture far out into the unknown, leaving behind his brother to rule. But had he earned that?

Had he, for all he was, earned the chance to walk out his potential duties? Gods know he would've hated being a king in Asgard, not to mention everyone in it, but still… If Thor fell, who would be the one to take his place? Sif and the others were worthy warriors, but they were hardly the right material for a ruler… Then again, had he ever thought Thor was capable? De he even now?

"Loki?"

Loki jolted slightly, realizing that he had been silent for a whole minute. Thankfully the magic he used enabled him to choose what thoughts Bucky would be able to hear, which meant that Bucky hadn't heard his doubtful thoughts a few seconds ago.

"Ahh, erhm… Well I suppose… That I'm not sure…"

There was another pause, and Loki groaned as he realized he had just embarrassed himself by basically telling Bucky he hadn't the foggiest idea of where he was heading.

"I know what that feels like… I used to have a goal… Steve and I stuck together, and we both walked the same path… But I lost track of the way, I stumbled… And now I am here… I don't think I can find the path I once walked or if I should… For now I think I'll just have to make a new path."

Loki spent a few seconds thinking of what Bucky had just told him, and realized yet again that the two of them had a lot of similarities in their life.

"I feel the same way… The only thing I know for now, or perhaps feel is the right term… Is that I have to get away. From everything, or else I will get sucked into a darkness I don't want to be part of. I'm afraid Bucky. I'm afraid that I will become someone I am not, simply because I am caged within a place others call home."

When he said those words, Loki felt as if he had finally put the right words out in the open, or at least passed them on to someone who understood him. He just hoped that his brother would also be that person.

"But… you are heading somewhere then? Even if it's only referred to as of now as "away"?"

Loki looked behind his shoulder, as if he expected to see Bucky sitting right behind him. He was only greeted by the greyish wall, but he felt as if Bucky was staring at him for the moment being. Loki lightly scratched his chin and breathed in before responding.

"I suppose so."

And there it was again. The pause, that wavering moment between thoughts.

But soon enough there was a response, one that Loki had not anticipated.

"I don't suppose… That you have room for one more troubled soul on your journey?"

Loki drew a quick breath at that moment. Was Bucky suggesting what he thought he was? Loki was getting ready to think of an appropriate response- He wanted to scream yes, but he also wanted to think things through- the last thing he wanted to do was to hurt Bucky. But before he could there was an alarming warm feeling that spurred in Bucky's head, and Loki could feel the pain surging.

"Bucky! Are you alright?!"

Bucky drew a few breaths as he sat on the other side of the wall, clutching his head with both of his hands, his eyes closed and his mouth turned into a gritting image.

"Aahh- Well it seems that I am getting too hot… Hehehe… I haven't gotten

used to being out of the cryo freezer for such a long time yet…"

Loki was now staring right into the wall, both of his palms pressed against it. The baby was only a meter away, soundly sleeping. Loki was now breathing heavily, not sure of what he could do; only that he had to help his friend in need.

The he remembered that he still had the ice box tucked away; Loki quickly brought it forth and blasted it onto the wall, but just so it would bring down the temperature: He still needed a solid plan before he could make an escape with it.

To his joy and embarrassment Loki heard a long moan inside his head when the wall was below zero degrees, but before he could say anything proper to Bucky, there was a sound interrupting them. A sort of bonking noise. It came from Deadpool cell. Loki turned around in surprise, but all he saw was the opposite wall, and judging by the sound, it sounded like… Deadpool was tapping his glass door?

Loki silently listened, and he picked up another sound, though it wasn't as loud as the constant pecking on the glass, it sounded like… singing?

What had actually happened after that was unknown by Loki and Bucky, but two unlucky guards who drew the short straw to go and check out Deadpool found out the hard way.

Not much longer after the sound had started to fill the air, two guards entered the hall and Loki had to quickly adjust his position so that they would not investigate him. The guards turned their covered faces slightly to stare into Bucky's and Loki's cells, but when they realized that nothing was going on and that the sound was emitting from Deadpools cell they simply trudged along.

They stopped outside Deadpools cell, only to find the man sitting right in front of the glass wall separating them, tapping his right index finger repeatedly at the exact same spot, and it was very profoundly, considering that his eyes was closed, which could be hard to tell, seeing as he had a hood on.

He was now dressed in black and white, with a black hood covering his scarred face and most of his body, except his arms, which only had white bandages wrapped close to his hands. He also wore a strange necklace of white orbs around his neck, something that must've accidently gotten mixed up when the clothes were thrown in previously.

He also had a white rectangular shaped drape going down from the front and back of his hood to his legs, held against the body by a simple belt made by a simple cloth. Besides that there were also two grey boot-like sandals, which were put on each foot that reached up to Deadpools knees.

All in all he now resembled what many would define as a "monk", which would give off to most people that the man was friendly and not violent at all, but that would most likely not stop the guards from beating the shit out of him if he did not stop.

Deadpool was also singing, or murmuring would perhaps be more accurate, though as the drumming beat of his index finger tapping on the glass grew louder, so did his singing.

"~Cause I'm only a crack… In this castle of glass…~"

"~Hardly anything left… For you to see~"

"~For you to see~"

(Authors note: In case you don't recognize the lyrics; The song Deadpool is singing is called "Castle of glass" by Linkin Park. Feel free to listen to it while reading; it might stir some emotions in you. Or not, depending on how much you are willing to feel while reading fanfiction.)

One of the guards hit the glass violently with the backside of his weapon, creating a loud resonating noise that had Loki jump at the sound in his cell.

"Oi, fuckface!"

The other one of the two guards yelled, which stopped the singing, only leaving the repetitive sound of a finger tapping against the glass behind.

Deadpool still had his eyes closed and face hid underneath the hood, but judging by the lack of singing it seemed that he now paid attention.

"What the hell do you think you're doing freak?!"

There was no immediate response from Deadpool, but just before the guard was about to throw a fit he responded, just loud enough to be heard over the sound he was creating.

"I'm tapping on the glass."

There was another pause, this time by the guards who seemed baffled at Deadpools audacity to so bluntly disrespect them. Nevertheless they were quick to retaliate verbally.

"We know that you idiot! Why the hell are you doing it, do you honestly think you can break the glass by tapping on it repeatedly?!"

Deadpool didn't respond this time either, but the silence seemed to confirm that the guard was right. Yet again one of the guards made movements which would suggest that talking was going to be initiated, but just like before Deadpool beat them.

"Have you ever heard about the story of a boy who went to train with monks?"

The guards were once again silent by the strange topics Deadpool brought up, and it seemed that Deadpool didn't want to wait for them to answer, because he continued anyway.

"Long ago… There was a family with one son. The father feared the boy would perish as he was very weak and fragile. The parents took their one and only son to the monks in the mountains outside their village, and asked them if they could help their son become stronger. The monks agreed, and the boy stayed in the temple with the monks, where he stayed for a year. When the boy came back, both of his parents were eager to learn what the monks had taught him that year. The boy told his father and mother that for the past year, the monks had had him splash water out of a bowl, refilling it when it went empty and repeat the process, all day for a whole year.

The boy's father could not believe that had been all, and ordered him to show him. The boy strode over to one of the family's tables, and with one strike from his palm; he broke the whole table in half."

Deadpool paused for a brief moment, perhaps to breathe in air or let the guards digest the story he had told them, but nevertheless he was talking again fairly quickly.

"Do you know how sometimes… Usually when you're eating, or maybe picking up stuff… You sometimes use too much or little force? Like… when you lift a carton of milk that you thought was full but turns out to be empty, which basically tricks you into lifting it with a force that sends it flying up in the air… Or when you are eating carrots and accidently bite your own tongue… That really hurts, right?"

"So what! What does this crap have to do with anything? You're just talking nonsense!"

"Here is another example; there is an old torture method that involves nothing more than a bucket with a hole in it. You simply strap your victim onto a chair and keep them under the bucket with the hole in it. Then you fill it with water, and let it drop small drops of water onto the victims head. Soon enough, given that there is always water dripping down… The force will take its toll on the victim."

The guards did now seem a bit concerned about the subject Deadpool was touching, but rather than heeding where the conversation was heading, they chose the usual tactic of continuing with the foul mouthing.

"Nothing you say makes any sense; it's just rubbish, like that face of yours!"

"What I am telling you about is… The human body is able to do a lot of things, given that the person can unlock the strength that lies underneath. When one has mastered that… It is only a matter of amplifying that power at the right spot."

Deadpool stared right at the guards, and though there faces were covered with their masks, they both swore that the man was staring right at them, before fixating his gaze at the place he was tapping with his index finger.

"In the end when the cup is about to overflow with all the water in it…-

The tapping was now increasing with each tap, something that had the two guards securing their weapons, not sure of what was to follow.

"It only takes one-(insert loud sound)-final-(insert even louder sound)-drop-(loudest sound as of yet)-."

When he had finished speaking there was a cracking sound to be heard, and when Deadpool halted his right hands index finger from the glass, there was astoundingly enough a visible crack to be seen by the guards, who seemed fascinated, before slowly chuckling at Deadpools failed attempt at crushing the glass.

That was before the crack spread across the entire wall, and before any of the two guards had time to react, the whole glass wall was filled with cracks, spreading fast and wide. And like a predator waiting to jump its prey, Deadpool who had previously been sitting idly, now flew up from his position, through the glass and right at the guards.

But the guards were guards after all, not just summer interns who had been handed guns and nametags before boarding the criminal organization ship, and they were armed, unlike Deadpool.

But it seemed that the guards had forgotten that Deadpool was a trained mercenary, something that bit literally bit their asses at the moment.

The guards pointed their guns at Deadpool and fired, but Deadpool managed to dodge and grab each gun, throw them in separate directions while still managing to fight off the guards.

"I understand that you might take me for a fumbling, tumbling fool, and I don't blame you for that. People assume I'm dumb, because I'm fun, and some of the things I do don't look smart."

Deadpool dodged his head to the side, effectively avoiding a punch, and grabbed one of the guard's arms and throwing him into the other one, which resulted in both of the two falling flat on their backs on the floor, like a turtle unable to get up.

"But I'm not dumb. I know things."

The guards had now scrambled to their feet and was fist fighting Deadpool, who seemed to have little to no trouble in avoiding and simultaneously talking while doing so.

"I know how to make a lot of pancakes. I know how to maintain my arsenal. I also know a move that will incapacitate both of you by only using my index and middle finger—the space between the nose and the forehead—Bones of the cranium actually don't fuse together completely by two years of age—It's pliable your whole life."

Deadpool grabbed both men's masks and ripped them away, revealing their faces, who at the moment looked terrified at the man before whim.

"One would of course need to apply the exact amount of force and hit the precise spot; otherwise the target would die instantly."

The two men's eyes widened in horror, and in a flash Deadpools two arm shot forward to their heads, hitting them at the exact spot described earlier.

The two men fell down and laid on the floor motionless, but by the small sound emitting from their mouths, they were still breathing, which seemed to be the only thing they were capable of at the moment.

As Deadpool walked past the fallen guards he saw Loki standing and staring at him in his cell, eyes wide as he had just witnessed the fight.

It was the first time Loki had seen Deadpools face, and he now understood why he always wore a mask; the man's face was covered in scars, showing red spots that looked horrifically painful to just witness. The eyes almost looked completely yellow, as if the pupils had been burned. There wasn't any hair either, and as his gaze traveled down he saw that the arms were the exact same, and the thought of his entire body looking the same crossed Loki's mind.

While Loki was absently staring at Deadpool, said man was currently grabbing one of the guards gun, and aimed it right at the glass door before shooting. The glass shattered, and so did Bucky's cell glass when Deadpool had fired the gun at it. By now there was an alarm beeping in the entire hallway, and Loki guessed that it wouldn't be soon before the hall was swarmed with guards.

He held the baby tight to his chest as the trio ran, through the halls without words. Bucky had picked up the other guards gun and was currently firing at the guards following them, who were terrible at aiming to their favor.

They managed to reach a hangar where the company hided, all while the alarm rang and soldiers ran about.

They were sitting with Deadpool in the middle, Loki and Bucky at his side. Loki had had to put a sleeping spell on the baby, who not so surprisingly had been awoken by all the alarming things going on all around them.

Loki silently looked at Deadpool, who was breathing heavily, and seemed very disturbed by all the chaos. Loki silently nudged him to get his attention, and Deadpool responded by staring silently at him, waiting for whatever he had been nudged for.

Loki gave a small smile before giving Deadpool the reason for nudging him for attention.

"Hey… I just wanted to say thanks, for you know everything, back then and now. Just thought you should know Deadpool."

That seemed to have the opposite effect Loki wanted, as Deadpool flinched at the mentioning of his name, and the man stared down at the floor, before holding up his shaking hands and staring at them intently.

"Don't call me that."

Loki cocked his head to his side slightly as he once again had no idea what he meant, but seeing as he wanted to be on good terms with Deadpool he tried to be understanding.

"I-I don't get it…What?"

Deadpools eyes flicked from his hands to Loki, and Loki saw something so immensely deep in those eyes, something he had never witnessed before. It was like an immense flood of emotions, emotions of sadness and joy, anger and passion; all bottled up inside Deadpool. If Loki had thought that he was the only one that had demons trapped inside of him he was clearly wrong, because there was an immense and wast storm residing in that man, who now seemed more puzzling and hard to comprehend and understand for Loki than ever. Deadpool looked away from Loki and gazed upon his hands again, who were still shaking. By now Bucky was also listening, though thankfully he also kept a watchful eye for the guards scanning the area around them.

"That name it's… Too brutal, I- I'm not what I used to be. That name belongs to a different man, someone I used to be up until recently. I'm a new man, a new chapter of my life that won't include as much blood as I have stained myself with in the past. I've made a lot of mistakes, and most of them came from me killing. It's about time that I did something about that, and the first step is abandoning my old ways, including the name I went by. From now on, please refer to me as… Zenpool."

Loki nodded slowly at Dead- I mean Zenpool, and wondered what the hell M.O.D.O.K. had done to the man inside that laboratory of his. He had said that he would destroy Zenpool's mind, but it seemed that he had accidently reversed the man's personality instead, going from gun shooting lunatic to, well… Peaceful lunatic? It was hard for Loki to decipher exactly how Zenpool had changed, and to be honest he wasn't sure if he preferred the old one or this new one in front of him, who was currently staring at his hands with a very peculiar look that somehow disturbed and move Loki at the same time deeply.

They sat in silence and waited out the men searching the area, Loki had previously put up a duplicate which the guards were now chasing, and as soon as they moved out they ran from the hangar into a hall, where they snuck into a room.

When they entered the room, which was fairly large compared to the other rooms they had passed while escaping, they were now met with a gigantic wardrobe of clothes; perhaps from prisoners, or maybe they made a profit stealing clothes. Some were thrown on the floor, and some hung from the ceiling. There were probably hundreds of different clothes, boots, socks you name it. Usually Loki wouldn't just grab some random clothes from a foreign ship and put on himself, but nevertheless Loki took the opportunity and searched the pile for some new clothes; his old ones were really starting to wear themselves out, and blood is really hard to wash out after all.

True, the time and place could have been chosen better, but since Loki really didn't know when and if he would ever come across another chance to change clothes, he took it without a second thought. He of course locked the door with his sonic screwdriver before, so that if the guards came in they wouldn't stumble upon him in the nude. Loki searched the pile quickly, while Bucky stood at the door and listened to the sounds outside, while Zenpool held the baby in his arms and softly rocked it back and forth while silently singing a lullaby.

After Loki had picked out the clothes he wanted to wear he started to unbutton the clothes he had on himself, before he became painfully aware that he wasn't alone in the room. One could argue that they were only guys in the room, but somehow Loki felt uneasy undressing in front of others, or to be more precise, undressing in front of Bucky. Loki slid the top part of his cloak down his shoulder, and cast a shy look at where Bucky was, and to his embarrassment he was met with an intense gaze from the other, which seemed to have something in his eyes, something that Loki could only describe as… Hunger.

Loki quickly turned his head away and blushed red, before stuttering, which seemed to be what Bucky also was doing, and the other man quickly looked away from Loki.

Bucky was not a pervert. No. He had been with naked guys before, when he had been in the army. So he had seen his fair share of dongs dangling around, but it wasn't like he was… "Looking looking", if you know what that means. No. God no. Well… Maybe. He didn't know to be honest. He thought he liked women, but he had never actually never gone after any. He had figured that he would only meet someone when he was done, but that obviously didn't work out like he thought it would. He hadn't been drawn to guys either for that matter, he had been quite happy as he was, never craving anything particular in his life.

But Loki… Loki was different. The guy was like he was from another world, which as it turned out, he was. Bucky really didn't know how to explain it, but he actually felt drawn to the other. He had always thought that crap only happened in the movies, where the guy is hopelessly lovesick with a girl, and will do anything for her. But as he saw that creamy skin that hid beneath those robes… It was damn hard not to want more. His mind was filled with perverted images, where he would simply walk over to Loki and help him undress, while he snuck his hands down under, felt every part, and ravaged him against the wall… It was all that and much more that flooded his mind, as if he was a horny teenager that had just found out what one could do with another person. And as he met Loki's eyes briefly as he saw the other man turn his head, he saw the shyness in the other man's eyes. His hands had clutched immensely hard, and his teeth had grinded as he kept himself from running over and claiming the other for himself, but it became extremely hard when the other turned around with a blush on the face. It wasn't fair.

He quickly played along though, and looked away, even if he didn't want to. As Loki hurriedly undressed he watched with hungry eyes, memorizing every detail of the other man's body, wishing he could touch and feel it with his bare hand.

When Loki was finished removing and applying new clothes to his body the blush he had was gone, but he had to keep himself from thinking of what had happened, otherwise it was sure to return.

He was now wearing a long green coat, with a white mane at the top that went around the back of his neck and opened in the front. Under that he wore a plain green shirt with some gold lines running from different places down the shirt. He also wore black gloves, and he had in all haste painted his fingernails black for fun. He was odd in that way. Besides that there were the black pants and boots, and what more… Hmm… well the only thing left would be the horns. Yes you heard me. Horns. Golden horns actually, that was put onto his forehead, with his black hair covering its sides. Say what you want about Loki, but he liked horns.

(Authors note: The clothes Loki are wearing is the clothes he has in the comic book "Loki agent of Asgard" If you google it, I assure you that you will have a better idea of what he looks like with his new clothes on.)

As he turned around he showed his new clothes to his friends and smiled a bit. He froze however, when he realized that he had just called them "friends", and even though it was only in his mind, Loki still felt a warm tingly feeling when he tasted the word in his mind. Sure, the bunch had its flaws, but so did he, and it felt really good to have friends, or at least people he considered friends.

Bucky slowly opened the door when he thought the coast was clear, and they all snuck out the room and ran through the hall, hopefully towards and exit. As they ran, the whole company suddenly heard loud crashing noise from all around, as if something was attacking the ship. Before they knew it the entire hall was suddenly turned upside down, and everybody with it. Apparently the ship was now crashing, and whether it was the people of S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra that was responsible for it, Loki was still going to kill the person who thought that shooting down the ship was a good idea when there were prisoners onboard.

The ship managed to turn itself upright, but it was still going down at an alarming rate, something Loki could tell by the sudden gravity pulling him down the hall they were running through. They managed to get into an open hangar with windows, which at the current time displayed a city that the ship was going to crash into. It was only a matter of seconds, and Loki realized that the ship would crash, and he couldn't change that. So since he couldn't change the circumstances, Loki changed himself. He quickly and swiftly cast a spell that engulfed the company in a protective bubble, and silently prayed that it would shield them from the crash.

The ship slowed down slightly, but still hit the ground hard as it now slided across the streets of the city, heading straight for a… school. How typical.

And even more typical, (or perhaps luckily) the ship came to a stop before crashing with the school.

Loki dissolved the bubble and looked at Bucky, Zenpool and the baby. Everybody was alright. He gave a small smile before heading outside of the ship, where glass and parts of the ship were scattered all over the ground.

"Oh no…"

Loki turned around to find Zenpool staring intently at the school, as if he had once been going there.

Zenpool stared at the school, and with a shaky voice he spelled out a name before charging into the school;

"**Ellie**!"

Loki watched the man run faster than he thought was humanly possible, and he had barely time to turn around before **another** blasted ship crashed, not far away from their own crashed ship. The ship was smaller than the A.I.M. ship, but looked more advanced, in fact, that ship looked like…

Before Loki's train could go any further, the ship opened and two beings climbed out of it, one that had a striking resemblances to one of earths many lifeforms and another one that looked like a giant walking tree.

The smallest of the pair picked up a gun that looked to be twice the size of him, and pointed it straight at Loki while charging it.

"Alright, hands in the air pretty boy! And that goes for the tin arm over there too!"

"I am Groot."

"Of course there bad guys, didn't you see them leave the ship we just shoot down?"

"I am Groot."

"Just because they don't have guns doesn't mean they are good people! It just means they are stupid like all people from Terra!"

Loki stared in awe at the odd pair, not sure of what he could say at the moment that would sway the little rodent to put down the blaster.

Meanwhile, at the school, Zenpool was running around, looking for a girl named Ellie. The others did not know, but that girl was his daughter. He had had a fling in the past with a beautiful woman, but after that he had lost contact with her. When he had been confronted by her with his baby daughter, he had not believed it. So he had told her to go away. After that, a lot of things had happened, a lot of mistakes included. But after he had secured his daughter he had sworn he would protect her. And he would never stop. It was his typical luck that he landed right outside her school, but things were as they were, and the only thing he could do was to make sure that she stayed safe.

As he ran through the crowd of screaming children running away, he helplessly looked around after his daughter. He was going to find her and bring her to safety.

He looked around desperately, and then he saw her, and he quickly ran past the crowd and to her. She managed to see him, and at first she looked scared, probably due to the new clothes he wore, but when she saw his face she smiled.

Zenpool didn't even take time to chit-chat; he just picked her up and ran away from the school, and hopefully from the danger. He was wrong.

As he stepped out into the open street a group of five men from A.I.M. stepped forward, each of them holding a gun towards him and Ellie. Zenpool had only a second to react, so he did what any father should and would do; He protected his daughter. He turned around and hugged his daughter tight, covering her with his body. As the men shot him multiple times, blood started to flow out of him, but his regenerating power stopped the bullets from hitting his daughter. That and the bulletproof west he had picked up and put on when they were in the clothes room aboard the ship.

Suddenly however, the shooting stopped abruptly, and as Zenpool turned around he saw Spider-man beating up and kicking the A.I.M. men's asses all over the street. He turned his head back to Ellie, who had her eyes clothes and head buried in his chest. He nudged her slightly to get her attention before he spoke to her.

"Ellie, are you alright? You aren't hurt, are you?"

Ellie slowly looked up at him, and she bit her trembling lip, but she shook her head. Zenpool let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding in and smiled brightly while he patted her head with his hand.

"Good. Now let's get you out of here before any more bad guys show up, okay?"

Ellie nodded, and Zenpool slowly stood up, groaning loudly when he suddenly felt the immense pain coursing through his body. Luckily for him, that was the moment that Preston showed up his robot-woman-friend-sort of. It would take too long to explain, but she was a friend that worked for S.H.I.E.L.D., so he knew Ellie would be safe with her.

"Wade! What's happening here!?"

Preston shouted, and Wade stood up the best he could and explained what had happened, and told Preston to take Ellie with her. She took her without question, and before long the two were away. Wade turned around just in time to see Peter walking towards him, and even though he had his Spider-man mask on him, he knew he was worried.

"Wade! Are you alright?"

Peter asked as he walked forwards and put his hands on Wade, trying to take away to clothing so he could see how deep the wounds were.

"I'm fine now that Ellie is safe, I-I just need a moment to catch my brea-grak-"

Wade didn't have time to finish that sentence before he coughed up blood, and some bullets along with it. He bent over, and Peter supported him. Wade slowly looked up at his boyfriend, and he smiled a bit when he saw the strained smile at Peters face.

"I saw what you did, you know… It was moving the way you protected her…"

Peter said, while smiling and rubbing Wade's chest with circular movements. Wade caught Peters hand and smiled slightly.

"And I would do it a million times over, if it meant she would be safe from my world."

Peter smiled at those words, and despite the crazy situation they were in, he couldn't help himself as he pulled up his mask enough to reveal his mouth, leaned forward and kissed Wade right on the mouth.

Wade welcomed the kiss (he had swallowed the blood in his mouth earlier) and held his beloved. The kiss grew more heatedly, and Wade snuck a hand down Peter's spine and started to rub his back, while one leg snuck between Peter's legs.

He then squeezed Peter's butt, which caused to other to gasp, granting him access to his mouth. He quickly showed his tongue into the mouth he knew so well, and mapped it out completely. Peter resisted for a moment, but was soon forced into submission as Wade rubbed his back simultaneously in a way that made him a moaning mess. Eventually they broke away from the kiss for air, but neither of the two let go of the other.

Wade was the first one to speak:

"I missed you… So much."

Peters smiled brightly, and the two lovebirds stood still for a few seconds, unknowing of the danger that loomed over them.

Loki was still standing in front of the raccoon and the tree, which seemed to be in an intense argument whether the raccoon should shoot him or not. But Loki had had a long day, and he had had enough of standing still.

"Enough! Why are you here?! What do you want with me?!"

The raccoon turned away his head from the tree and snarled, while at the same time pointing the gun back at Loki before responding;

"We are the one who asks the questions here! And we want to know where the square-thingie infinity stone is!"

Loki stood still now, and he couldn't believe this. The Tesseract?! Was the whole bloody universe after it?! Why couldn't he ever catch a break?!

"Look fancy pantsy, if we don't get that infinity stone right now, Ronan will-"

Before the raccoon could finish talking, a giant shadow fell upon Loki, and as he looked up he saw a ginormous up in the sky, and by now he knew that big ships in the sky was bad news. Very bad.


	18. Chapter 18 Faced fears and Tears

Wade turned around just in time to see the bigger ship hover above him, and he knew it meant trouble. He looked at Peter for a brief moment; Peter stared at him and nodded, prompting him to go, but not before he gave Wade a chaste kiss and smiled at him. After the touching moment between the two he pulled down his mask and ran the other way, most likely to protect the civilians.

Wade stood still for a few seconds, smiling as he could still taste Peter on his lips. But when he felt the warmth of the sun leave him due to the shadow above, he ran towards it and Loki, hoping that everything was alright.

Loki stood completely still, watching a small ship land only a few meters away from where he was standing. The landing whipped up wind and leaves, but somehow it didn't bother Loki, because when he watched the raccoon and the tree preparing themselves, he knew it was something vile in that ship.

When the small ship had landed and opened itself, a man stepped out of it, and Loki froze in terror at the sight and realization of who it was that no stood before him; Ronan. Loki said the name out in the open, as if the mere presence of the man compelled him to utter his name. Bucky stood ready for action, and raised an eyebrow when Loki said Ronan's name. But Loki didn't notice, he was too deep in thoughts to care about anything other than the monster that had just landed before him.

Loki knew very well about this man, but why was he here? Loki had a bad feeling in his gut that it was connected to the Tesseract, since most of his troubles seemed to originate from it.

Ronan stood still and gazed at the environment around him, unfazed by the screams that echoed around him, until one massive hit blew him away.

Loki had barely registered what had just happened, but when he turned to look at the raccoon, he saw that it was he that had fired his gun.

Rocket lowered the gun now, and even though he was more than 12% sure that Ronan was dead, he could still feel the fear creeping through his veins as he waited for the smoke to settle where Ronan had been blasted.

Everything had been so great: The two of them had been traveling with the purple-marble thingie, delivering to the nova core. It had been a special mission with only him and Groot, and they had just picked up the infinity and were on a steady course to safety and money.

Then out of the blue, Quill contacts them and says that there is **another** blasted stone on his home, the dirt planet. They didn't even have time to drop of their stone since Ronan was already on his way to Terra, and now they are facing him head on?! How krutacking tastic. Not only that, but that other stone could literally be anywhere on this dirtball, and they didn't exactly have any head start, or backup.

Rocket exhaled through his nose and reloaded his weapon, hoping that he had killed the bastard, because otherwise he was out of ideas.

Loki didn't even realize that something was about to hit him until he felt an immense pain, and then he passed out, and the last thing his eyes saw before closing was Ronan's shadowy figure emerging from the smoke.

Bucky turned his head to Loki, who had been knocked out by an unusually powerful gust of air, which had shot out like a cannonball from where the man supposedly named Ronan had landed. The said man was currently walking out of the cloud of smoke, unharmed by the raccoon's blast. Bucky knew he had to act, so he did what he had done ever since he could remember; fight. He ran towards Ronan, both of his fists ready to punch the blue alien out cold.

Rocket watched as the dude from Terra literally threw himself at Ronan, and he didn't know if he would call it bravery or stupidity. Probably stupidity. He looked over his shoulder at Groot, who was tightly holding on to the silver sphere containing the purple infinity gem. Groot looked at him with his big eyes, and Rocket knew he wanted to help the man from Terra. Too bad he knew that they couldn't win.

"C'mon, don't just stand there and dig your root into the ground! We have to get out of here! Now!"

Rocket shouted at Groot, and he turned his back from the fight and ran toward Groot, holding his gun steady and ready in his arms. He grabbed Groot's free hand and tried to drag him with him, but the oversized plant just whimpered and refused to move. Typical. Rocket was drawn from his thoughts by the sound of a body falling to the ground, and as he turned around he saw what he had predicted; The man from Terra was lying on the ground, blood running across the pavement his body rested on, while Ronan stepped over his body, and marched right towards… Them.

Rocket felt his heart racing, and even though he knew it would do no good, he aimed at Ronan with his gun. Ronan was now close to them, and something told Rocket that the same trick would not work twice. But it was the only thing he could do, even though he wished that he could do more.

That's when Rocket heard a raspy voice shout out, and he diverted his eyes from Ronan to find the source of the raspy voice. It turned out to be some weird hood-dressed freak, judging by those half-eaten arms.

Ronan turned his head in curiousness at the raspy voice that presumably called for him, and he was surprised when his eyes saw the man that had called him. Most of his body was covered in garnets, but the arms were quite visible, and Ronan wished they weren't.

"Stop. Just stop… And listen to me. This isn't the way."

Wade stood in front of the man that had a striking resemblance to that of a smurf, though maybe not so cute as terrifying and violent. Wade was holding out his right arm and hand towards the man; not really sure why, but he had seen a lot of people do it in movies, and it usually worked. He hoped.

Ronan cocked his head a bit, eying the man from bottom to top before speaking to the walking corpse.

"I am only here for the infinity stone. Give it to me and I will be over."

It was now Wades turn to cock his head in confusion, as he had absolutely no idea what it was that the smurf wanted.

"Liar! Don't believe a word he says, the moment he gets his hands on that stone, the whole planet is done for!"

Rockets hands were now shaking and his eyes were teary, but he was still clutching on to the gun in his arms, and he was aiming at that blue bastards face.

Ronan turned his head towards Rocket and stared at him with an emotionless expression before replying:

"As I said. It will be over."

Wade was now staring at the talking raccoon, who between the living tree and smurf seemed the least odd one. Rocket stared at the man who he presumed was a friend of the other two, and decided that he might as well tell him what Ronan wanted.

"That bastard is Ronan. He is after a stone we have, and if he gets hold of it… This planet is toast, and then the galaxy! You have to stop him!"

Wade listened carefully, and he didn't doubt it was true. The only problem was that he was less violent than before. When M.O.D.O.K. had taken him into his lab to destroy his mind, things hadn't exactly gone his way. He had succeeded in altering his mind, but not destroying it. Deadpools personality had become reversed, and now he was no longer the murderous mercenary he used to be. He had changed. He was a pacifist now. That's why he approached it from a different angle than he usually did;

"Listen… You don't have to do this. You could change, no- seriously. I used to be… Much worse. But then I met someone, someone who turned my world upside down, and made me want to be better. And now I am even more changed. I know that sometimes you think you want something really bad… And you go after it no matter what, or who stands in your way, right? That's what you do?"

Wade stared at Ronan in silence, whom seemed to answer Wade with his silence.

"I… Wanted to die. So badly. I was tired, bored, take your pick. I was sick you see. Incurable. Then these people came along and changed me. They made me into… Well… This."

Wade held both of his arms out and gestured himself, and as a final act he pulled his mask of, revealing his face to Ronan, who flinched at the sight. Wade swallowed hard before he managed to muster up enough stamina to continue.

And now I can't die. Nothing could kill me, and it drove me to madness. I tried everything, blow my head off, having seagulls pick me apart and fly me across the ocean, getting eaten by sharks, trying to have the Hulk smash me… You name it. It got to the point where innocent people, children, where caught in the crossfire, because I didn't care about them. It wasn't until I… I-… A while back I found this-well… I found, or heard, that there was this thing that could kill me. So I went looking for it. I got really close, and I succeeded. Well, obviously not, but you see-well… The thing is I… I almost died. I was there. But then the very person I manipulated, Bob, that was his name, he… He made me realize that if I killed myself it would affect others. It's thanks to him that I'm here today, and I couldn't be happier, because so much happened since then. I met people. Benjamin Franklin, Michael, and… My daughter Ellie. I would have never seen her if I died… she would have been all alone. But because of people that care about me I am still alive. And it just turns out that the thing I thought I wanted most… Wasn't what I wanted the most."

Wade paused to catch his breath, and hoped that his words meant something to Ronan. Wade took one long breath and exhaled, before continuing.

"Look… Everybody has it rough. The only promise I had since birth, the promise of death was broken, and it scarred my soul. I was hell bent on dying, and I almost lost the only people in this world who care about me because of it. It's usually hard to actually believe that there are people who care about you… But there are. You just have to let them in. So please… Let me help you. Please."

Wade held out his right hand in an effort to let Ronan grasp it, but the other seemed more amused by his heartfelt confession, rather than moved by it.

"How pathetic. You stand here, a man who couldn't kill himself, and talk to me as if you were me equal? As if you could sway me to spare your pitiful excuse of a planet?"

Wades heart sunk in his chest, as his words seemed to have fallen on deaf ears.

"I will fulfill your promise, Terrarian. I will kill you, and then this planet!"

Ronan tightened his grasp on the hammer he was holding, and he walked towards Wade. Wade felt his right hand fall down to his side, along with all his hopes for a peaceful negotiation. Was that all the man had heard from his speech?! That he had once desired to die?

Wades train of thought was abruptly stopped as the hammer that was swung while he was thinking connected with his chest, and Wade flew into the nearest building wall. He felt his bones cracking, the intense pain surge through his body, the blood that clogged his throat and the immediate need for air. He tried to breathe the best he could, while he at the same time tried to cough up the blood. His chest had now a hole in it, and blood poured from it, coloring his torn outfit red.

Ronan walked up to him quickly, and hoisted him up from the ground. His face formed a disgusted expression when he looked at Wade, and Wade opened his blood filled mouth and tried his best to speak a coherent sentence to the man.

"Please… You don't have to do this. Stop. Just stop it… Look inside yourself-"

That was all Wade managed to say before he thrown to the ground with another intense wave of pain, and then the hammer smashed his head. Everything went dark, thought disappeared and nothing remained.

Ronan stood over the lifeless body, the hideous face now covering and coloring the street red. He held his hammer to his face and squinted his eyes at the sight of the remains sticking to it. He turned around from the body and walked towards the other two who had decided to stand against him. He was halfway there when he heard that same raspy voice call out in agony, and to his surprise as he turned around, the head that he had smashed was now back on the body.

Wade twitched his hands at the intense pain, and he looked at Ronan with the only eye that had grown back so far.

Ronan slowly walked towards Wade and looked down at him, and his expression had now changed into… Pity.

"How sad. I understand now why you want to die so badly. You are nothing but a hideous, worthless worm that will never amount to nothing, doomed to crawl on the ground like the trash it is…"

Wade clenched the few teeth he had as he stared at Ronan, and he felt anger flicker inside of him as he listened to Ronan's demeaning voice taunt him. He looked and saw how he stared at him, the way everyone looked at him since he could remember. His father, who had never believed in him when he told him he wanted to be captain America, the Avengers, the X-men… Everyone who had ever looked at him and told him that he was nothing. Worthless.

Wade clenched his hand on the ground, scraping his fingers and drawing blood from them, but he didn't care. He was so sick of people looking at him like that, and- he tried. So hard. But it seemed that no matter how many times he did well, the wrongs he had done would always define him.

Ronan stared in silence at him, while the wind blew across the city, the loud noises and screams around them echoed, and yet, at that moment, the only thing that Wade heard was his heart pumping in his chest. Ronan inhaled deeply, before nodded in such a small way that Wade could have mistaken it for Ronan shaking.

"Very well… I will end you suffering."

Wades eye widened at that, and he watched helplessly as Ronan turned around and walked towards the tree, which was holding the orb that Ronan most likely was after. Wade felt the hopelessness build up inside him, the panic spreading as he tried to movie his paralyzed body, which he at the moment only had fingers in control of.

Ronan walked up to the tree, who in return actually retaliated.

Rocket jumped back and aimed at Ronan, firing his gun at him. But Ronan was fast. He grabbed Groot and used him as a shield, and Rocket watched in horror as his blast teared up his friend, shattering him into pieces that scattered over the ground.

"**Grooooottt!"**

Rocket screamed as he dropped his gun and ran to the pieces, trying helplessly to pick them up. Ronan ignored the small creature and picked up the orb that had been dropped. He looked at it for a minute, and then he stared directly at Wade, who had been trying to stand up on his shaky legs.

Wade felt his bones ache inside him, he felt every part of body tell him to lie down, but he refused to. Not when his friends were slaughtered! He breathed heavily from his still regenerating lungs, and he looked at Ronan as he stood in front of him.

Ronan stared at the disfigured man in front of him, and he quickly tore the orb open, revealing the purple shining gem inside. He admired it for a while, feeling the tremendous power surge inside it, the light drawing him in. Then he stared at the man and held out the half of the orb the gem lied in towards him.

Wade stared at the gem in horror, because he could also feel the power residing inside it, and he wanted none of that. He looked at Ronan, realizing what the other wanted him to do.

"No… I won't do it, no-I-I won't! Never!"

Ronan stared at him with a triumphant look in his eyes, and he grinned as he spoke his next sentence;

"This… This is your promise, your destiny. Take hold of it and be gone! You can do nothing against me! You are doomed to fail, as you have done before. You are nothing but trash, trash that will live while everything you know crumbles to dust. This is your only way out… This is your chance to be with those you will soon lose…"

Wade breathed heavily, staring at the Ronan, then the gem. A horrible feeling inside him told him that what the man said was true; He couldn't beat him. He wasn't strong enough. If everything was about to end… Shouldn't he be with those he loved?

Wade shook his head. No. He wouldn't do it! The heroes would stop Ronan, any second now someone would swoop in and-

Ronan huffed as the man made no move to grab the gem that would bring his death, and he decided to take the matter into his own hands. Literally.

"If you won't take it… Then I will!"

In that split second, Wade saw Ronan dropping his hammer from his left hand, and reaching for the orb. In that split second, his instinct kicked in, and he grabbed the gem from Ronan. He closed his hands around it, and as he did, he felt the power rip through him like thunder.

Ronan grabbed the empty half of the orb, but he looked with amusement nonetheless at the disfigured man, because he had done as he wanted. He stepped back and watched as the purple storm surrounded him and the disfigured man, and he laughed as it was tearing the man apart.

Wade couldn't scream, that was how painful it was, the stone burned with an immense force, and he could **feel** himself being torn apart. He looked at his closed hand with the gem inside, and it was like it told him to let go of himself, to let it consume it. If he did… He could be with everyone he had lost, he could be… Free. Every vein in his body gleamed with the purple color, his heart was beating faster than it ever had, and he felt himself starting to fall apart, his healing factor kneeling before the immense power. The darkness closed around him, and he looked up into the sky, closing his eyes in the darkness, accepting that it was the end. But outside the darkness, a voice called for him.

Wade thought it first to be his imagination that he was playing a trick on him, but when he heard it again he opened his eyes. He stared at the spot where the voice came from, and to his astoundment he saw Preston on her knees, holding a child that was reaching her arms out towards him, crying as she screamed at him. It was Ellie. It was his daughter.

"Let me go Preston! He's dying can't you see it?! I have to help him!"

Preston felt her robotic body tense at Ellie's voice, but she knew that she couldn't let her go. She watched as Wade was being torn apart by that strange purple cloud, and she wished, she really did, that she could help. But she had to keep his daughter safe.

"You can't save him Ellie! You'll only die too, is that what you want? What your father wants?!"

"But he's dying, I-I can't just… Please! DAD!"

Wade stared intently at his daughter, and suddenly he felt something inside him. Something different. His daughter needed him. Someone wanted him alive, no… Someone wanted him to **live**. **And that someone was his daughter!**

Wade felt feeling spreading through his body, and suddenly, dying was not an option. He clenched the fist that was holding the gem, and he fought it. He refused to let go, to allow it to tear him apart. Wade felt his body, every part that the gem was separating, and he pulled it back together. He took the piece, and put it right in his chest, the same place that the hole Ronan had made was. He put the piece there, and his flesh grew around it, covering it.

Ronan stared in horror as the man fought back; He had never seen anyone hold the stone for that long, and it looked like instead of being torn apart, the man was actually overpowering the gem, controlling it! But that's not possible!

Wade was now standing on both of his legs, the storm still spinning around him, the infinity gem fighting to destroy him, but he would not allow it. **His will was stronger than the infinity gems. **

Wade roared into the heavens, and finally, the storm settled, because the gem had submitted to him. It was a part of him now, and he was the one in control.

He stared down from the sky to Ronan, who had a completely different expression on his face now; fear.

Ronan stared at the man with black eyes and purple pupils, and for the first time in a long time he felt an emotion he thought he didn't possess; fear.

He slowly backed away, stammering as he tried to say something, but when the man started to walk towards him he ran. He quickly ran to his ship, and he flew away, getting away from the insane man and the planet as well. He didn't dare to look back, which was luck for Wade, who collapsed after taking his first step. He looked at Ellie as she stared at him with tears running from her eyes, and he smiled, because he knew that she was safe. With that though he collapsed and faded into darkness.

Preston was still staring at Wade, finding it hard to comprehend what had just happened, but when Ellie managed to slip out of her grip, she snapped out of it and chased her. Ellie ran to her father and hugged him, trying to wake him up. She tried to turn him over, but his weight was too much for her. Luckily Preston caught up with her, and she helped her turn him over. The sight made Ellie's eyes widen, and she gasped as she looked at her daddy. He looked almost the same as he used to, with the exception of the purple stone in the middle of his chest that had purple veins around it. She stroked his head softly with her hands as she cried, her tears falling onto him.

Preston scanned Wade with her eyes, and to her amazement he had a pulse; he was still alive.

"Ellie! He is alive!"

Ellie looked at Preston through her watery eyes, and she sniffed the snot running from her nose as she looked at her, then Wade.

Loki groaned as opened his eyes, feeling his head pounding with pain, and his chest aching. He looked around, and he saw a lot of things. To his right was the raccoon, holding stick in his paws as he cried. To his left was Wade, lying motionless on the ground, with a child and a woman next to him, and in front of him was… Bucky.

Loki quickly got on his feet, and he ran to Bucky. When he reached him he saw the blood, and he quickly turned him over to tend to the wound. He hissed and felt the panic rise when he saw how big it was, and all the blood that was still wet, but he composed himself.

He ripped away the garments around the wound, and he held his hands over it, slowly muttering a healing spell, all while he prayed that it wasn't too late. He looked at Bucky, who still had his eyes closed, and Loki wished that they would open.

After a while the wound had closed and healed, and it seemed that there were no other major injuries to Bucky other than that. But his eyes were still closed, and his breathing had stopped. Loki panicked, as he wasn't exactly a certified doctor, just an amateur healer. He applied pressure to Bucky's chest and pushed it repeatedly, feeling panic rise inside him, along with his eyes getting teary.

"C'mon… You can't die! Not now! I need you Bucky- I-… Don't leave me!"

At that very moment, Bucky coughed, and Loki was so chocked that his hands flew up in the air, and he leaned back, staring at Bucky, who was coughing for dear life. Bucky coughed a bit more, before his breathing evened out, and he rested on his elbows. Loki quickly became aware of the situation, so he supported Bucky with his arms and held him upright. Bucky smiled at him with his eyes still half-closed, and he managed to chuckle;

"How am I supposed to sleep with you screaming at me?"

Loki couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face, and as Bucky closed his eyes and leaned into his embrace, Loki felt a warm feeling rise inside him and on color his cheeks. Loki absentmindedly brushed Bucky's hair as he held him, now looking around his surroundings with more interest.

"I'm sorry…"

Rocket whispered the words as he held the remains of Groot, and he hadn't even noticed what had happened around him. But when he heard a small, squeaky voice call him, he turned his head to the source of it, and he saw… Groot.

It was a much smaller version of him, but it was defiantly him. Rocket smiled wildly as he ran up to him and picked him up, hugging him tightly. Groot hugged him as well with his small arms, and Rocket felt whole again. He looked around, and he saw that two similar scenes in front of him, both containing someone on the ground, with someone tending to them. He walked forward and saw that the guy who had attacked Ronan had miraculously survived, and now that he thought about it… Where was Ronan? Rocket looked up, and he saw the giant ship leaving the planet. Suddenly Rocket became aware that he had no idea where the stone was, so he looked around. That's when he saw it, embedded in the half-eaten man's chest.

Loki helped Bucky get to his feet, and the two of them waddled over to where Wade was lying, and the two shared the confused expression on their faces as they looked at the gem in his chest.

"We have to get that guy out of here. Now."

Rocket looked at the man on the ground, then the two chumps standing and staring at him beside him.

"I'm sorry what? How can you talk? You're a raccoon. And why does he need to get out of here?"

Bucky asked, as he still had a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that the freaking raccoon talked.

Rocket stared at him and growled, but decided to let it pass.

"Look mud-boy, this guy has somehow gotten the stone stuck in his chest. He can't be here anymore, because bad guys will come look for him, capish?"

Bucky stared at the raccoon for a while, then Wade, and finally Loki.

"Loki?"

He asked with uncertainty, waiting for him to respond.

Loki stared at Wade, but also the child who stared at the raccoon with wonder in her eyes, and also the lady that was holding the child. Truth to be told, he wasn't certain of what to say. He hadn't seen the fight, but he knew so much about Ronan, that he knew Wade wasn't safe here, not to mention the people on earth.

"He is right. If Wade stays here, then earth is in jeopardy. He has to leave."

"No!"

Loki turned his attention to the girl, who was holding onto Wade for dear life.

"You can't take my dad away! There must be another way!"

Everyone's eyes widened at the statement of Wade being a father, well, except Ellie and Preston of course.

Preston turned Ellie around and looked her deep in her eyes.

"Ellie… You father has always done everything he could to protect you. That was why he was away when you grew up, and the reason he sacrificed himself. He did it for you. He has always wanted you to be safe, and right now that means that he has to go away. Do you understand?"

Ellie looked at Preston and sniffed, before she buried her head in her chest and nodded. Preston smiled a bit as she stroked Ellie's hair, and she nodded silently to the others around her that it was okay to take Wade with them.

Rocket cleared his throat before he spoke;

"Right then. We will take him to my ship, and then I and Groot will be off, unless…"

Rocket looked at Loki and Bucky with an uncertain gaze, before he continued.

"You could come with us. I have no idea what that guy eats, and we could always use the help."

Loki stared at the raccoon with wide eyes, and he looked at Bucky, who had his eyebrows raised at the proposal.

Leaving earth… It sounded very tempting to Loki, but he wanted to know what Bucky thought of it. He looked at Bucky, but the other answered before he could pose the question;

"I go where you go."

Loki was at first confounded by the quick retort, but he smiled and nodded to Bucky, then the raccoon. He was finally leaving earth. Rocket grinned brightly and chuckled while the tiny Groot in his arms cheered and waved his tiny hands.

"Alright! No time like the present! Let's get this chump onboard the ship so we can leav-"

"LOKI!"

The blood in Loki's veins froze as he heard that voice, and as he turned his head around, he saw what he had feared; his brother.

Thor ran across the street towards him, and although he was smiling and well, Loki wished he hadn't come. Loki stood up and looked at his brother approaching him, getting closer to him by the second.

He knew it was time. He knew what he wanted, which was to travel with Bucky and Wade and the other two, not to mention the- **baby!** Loki's head quickly snapped to where he had had the baby, and to his relief it was safe, rolling around on the ground, giggling as it did so. Loki released a breath he hadn't known he was holding in, and he turned to Bucky, who looked at him with concern.

"Get Wade and the baby on that ship. I will be right behind you."

Bucky didn't say anything at first, but when Loki gave him small smile he nodded, and he lifted Wade from the ground and carried him away. Loki hoped his fake reassuring smile had worked on Bucky, because he himself didn't feel reassured at all. He looked at Bucky as he walked towards the ship, until he was engulfed in a bear-hug by his brother, who laughed whole-heartedly as he shook him up and down. Loki was a bit irritated at first, but realizing that this could very well be the last friendly encounter with his brother, he decided to hug him back. The hug itself lasted only a few seconds, but Loki cherished it nonetheless.

When they separated, Loki instantly felt panic rise inside him, he felt sick in his stomach when he thought of what would happen next.

"Loki! I am so glad I found you! I looked for you, and then I saw this cloud, and- are you alright?"

Loki looked at his brother with a surprised look, mostly due to the fact that his brother had never really noticed when he felt something inside that he didn't show on the outside. Or perhaps he did.

"I'm fine Thor, but… I…"

Thor looked at him with a confused expression, and Loki just noticed that he still had both of his brother's hands holding on to his arms.

"I have to go. There are people who need me elsewhere, so I won't be going home with you."

Thor gave him a funny face, and smiled with and odd turn of his head, before he retorted;

"What are you talking about? Are you going away? Then I will go with you! Like always my brother!"

Loki shook his head and looked down, trying to put it in a matter that his brother would understand.

"No Thor. You are needed in Asgard."

Thor looked at Loki with a sad expression, but he nodded and removed his hands from Loki's arms.

"When will you return?"

Loki gnawed his lips, as he knew that what he said next would make the departure so much more painful for him.

"I won't. Not for a long time, if ever."

Thor's smile dropped, and he had a more serious expression on his face now;

"Why not? What's wrong Loki? What aren't you telling me?"

Loki took a long breath before he answered:

"Look Thor… I just don't feel at home in Asgard, not ever. And things are different now; I have friends, friends that care about me. Besides, Asgard doesn't need, not now or ever. There can only be one king Thor, and it isn't me. I'd rather be out in the universe, exploring and experiencing, than being all alone in Asgard."

Thor looked at him with a sad expression on his face, and Loki knew that he didn't understand what he was telling him. He had to tell him the truth.

"Loki, what are you talking about? Alone? You're my brother and I-"

"No."

Thor was interrupted by Loki's retort, and he looked even more confused now.

"What?

Thor gave a small fake laugh at that, which was rare for him, since he always laughed truthfully. Loki clenched his fists and stared his brother dead in the eye.

"I said no. I'm not your brother Thor. I never was. I'm an ice giant."

The smile on his brothers lips was now completely gone, and he looked like he had finally understood that it wasn't one of his brothers tricks that was being pulled on him.

"What?"

That was all Thor managed to say, and rather than spending the entire remaining of the day explaining it to him, Loki dug up from his pockets the ice box, and it held it in his hands, the cold spreading out in his body, changing his pinkish colored skin to the ice blue one. And as it happened, Thor stepped back in horror, grabbing his hammer from his waist and holding it in his right hand as he stared at Loki in horror. Loki felt his anxiety rising, and he put the box back into his coat, but even so, the color of his skin remained blue, and his red eyes had tears in them.

"What… Are you! You're one of them! You're one of the monsters!"

Loki felt his heart shatter into a million pieces at his brothers harsh words, and Thor did no longer look at him like he used to- now he looked at him like everyone else did in Asgard: With hate, disgust, and fear…

Loki felt his throat close and he tried to talk to Thor, but his brother was now looking at him with a hateful gaze, and he still had his hammer in a firm grip, ready to kill him.

"Thor… Please… Can't you see? It's still me!"

But Thor wasn't convinced and the next words hurt Loki more than anyone else's ever could, because it was his brother that had spoken them;

"All this time… You were a filthy monster? All while we grew up… All that time I thought…You are no brother of mine! You're just one of the monsters!"

Loki stopped breathing at that moment, and nothing existed in the world at that moment besides him and Thor. He felt his tears fall like rivers from his cheeks, and it was getting hard to see, because his eyes were filled with water. His throat felt as if someone had put a snare around it and tightened it and his heart and stomach hurt and burned inside him. He let out a loud breath and spoke his final words to his the person he had believed to be his brother;

"Yes I am. And you will never see me again."

With those words he turned around and walked towards the ship, leaving Thor standing behind him. Loki didn't dare to look back, and he walked tall and prideful to the ship that was about to take off, but the moment he was on it, with the door closing… He broke down to the floor. Bucky quickly walked over to him and hugged him tightly, and Loki held onto him as the tears refused to stop.

Why did he have to be born a monster?

(Authors note: Sorry for the long wait everybody: a lot of things happen between now and later, namely "life". But hey, at least you have a new chapter, right?)


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